MAKE-AT-HOME 

THINGS 



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CAROLYN 

SHERWIN 
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MARIAN ELIZABETH BAILE\ 



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BOYS^ MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 





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BOYS' 

MAKE-AT-HOME 

THINGS 



BY 

CAROLYN SHERWIN BAILEY 

AND 

MARIAN ELIZABETH BAILEY 



WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS 



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NEW YORK 

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 



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Copyright, igi2, by 
Frederick A. Stokes Company 

All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign 
languages, including the Scandinavian 



September^ igi2 



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PREFACE 

Make-At-Home-Things for Boys aims to keep 
boys busy and entertained. It furnishes them 
with simple directions for making toys and useful 
articles, all of which are carefully pictured. The 
aim of the book, is to give boys an idea of the 
craft possibilities which lie in the crudest mate- 
rials, often the waste material of the home and in 
this way to develop real artistic ability. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface v 

The Making of Tools Necessary for Whittling i 

How TO Make a Practical Work Bench ... 7 

Work Bench Accessories ....... 15 

How TO Make a Turning Lathe ..... 21 

How TO Make a Toy Train .... = .. 29 

Out-door Toys 37 

How TO Make Your Own Desk Set .... 45 

Wild Animals You can Make 53 

How TO Make a Set of Mission Furniture . . 59 

Toys That Hide in the Wood Box 65 

The Wonderful Dodo Bird 75 

A Fleet of Toy Boats 83 

How to Make a Play Tent 89 

How TO Make Your Own Tops 95 

The Farm the Scissors Built loi 

More Box Plays 107 

A Recipe for a Noah's Ark 113 

How TO Make Your Own Uniform 117 

Jointed Toy Animals. How to Make Them . . 123 

Your Own Circus 129 

Bead Work for Boys i35 

How TO Make Stick Pictures 143 

vii 



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CONTENTS 



A Toy Indian Village .... 
Corn Toys and How to Make Them 
How TO Make a Marble Bag . 
How TO Make Your Own School Box 
A Home-made Christmas Tree Stand 
How TO Wrap Christmas Parcels . 
Your Own Wireless Receiving Station 



PAGE 

149 
155 

165 
171 

177 
183 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Whittled Toy Train Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 

Knife-Strop ^ 

Whittled Weather Vane; Kite Stick; "Cat"; Reel 

for Fish Line; "Cat" Stick 38 

File; Ink Well; Pen Tray 46 

Book Rack 5° 

Whittled Wild Animals: Giraffe, Camel ... 54 

Whittled Wild Animals : Bear, Lion, "Darwin" . 56 

Dolls' Chair and Table Whittled in Mission Style . 60 

Dolls' Whittled Chest of Drawers ; Dolls' Whittled 

Bed 64 

Toy Barnyard Made of Kindling Wood ... 68 

A Set of Dolls' Furniture Made by Gluing Together 

Blocks of Kindling Wood 74 

The Dodo Bird 80 

A Cork Raft; A Cork Sail Boat 84 

Whittled Toy Sail Boat 88 

Whittled Clown Top 9^ 

Beet Top; Top Made of Graduated Disks; Button 

Mold Top 98 

ix 



X ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

Cart, Barn and Barrow Made of Cardboard Boxes . 104 

Circus Parade (The Cage is Made of a Shoe Box) . 108 

The Ark ; Cardboard Animals Who Live in the Ark . 112 

Going Aboard the Ark 114 

Pattern for Soldier's Cap ; The Finished Uniform : 
Cap, Shield, Sword and Epaulets 120 

Jointed Cardboard Animals 126 

A Bead Loom Made of a Box Cover .... 140 

Stick Illustration of the Story of The Three Bears . 146 

Corn Cob Pappoose: Corn Cob Indian . . . .158 

Whittled School Box; Chamois Marble Bag . .164 



BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 



BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME 
THINGS 

THE MAKING OF TOOLS NECESSARY 
FOR WHITTLING 

THE tools which one will need for whittling — 
the kind of whittling that makes something 
besides sphnters — are very simple and few in 
number. Any boy's pocket will furnish a jack- 
knife, and it is pretty sure to be a sharp one. 

With a knife, a pencil, and some pieces of 
wood, all the other tools may be made. Bass- 
wood is the easiest wood to handle because it is 
soft, and very close grained. If basswood can 
not be had, pine is the next best wood, and an 
old egg crate, which any grocer will be glad to 
get rid of, will furnish you with enough whittling 
material for a long time. 

The scale for measuring (Fig. 3) should be 
made first, as it is the tool most necessary in 
laying out the other tools. One of the thin strips 
from the side of the egg crate may be used for 

I 



2 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

this. The outUne of the scale must be drawn on 
the wood with a hard pencil. A "6 H" is the 
best. The "H'' means ''hard," and the number 
of H's shows the degree of hardness. The pen- 
cil should be sharpened on both ends— one end 



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rubbed to a fine point on sandpaper, and the 
other end to a chisel point. The sharp point is to 
mark, accurately, the points to which lines are 
to be drawn, and the chisel point is to draw the 
lines with. After the outline is drawn it may 
be cut. 

First take off a splinter or two to determine the 
direction of the grain, because one long cut 
against the grain might spoil your work. When 
this is determined, you should cut down almost 
to the outline, using a long, free stroke from the 
shoulder for the cutting in the direction of the 
grain. For the cross-grained cutting at the ends, 
the knife is held in the four fingers, with the 



TOOLS FOR WHITTLING 3 

thumb steadying the near side of the wood, and 
the cut is made toward the thumb. Only a very 
short cut may be made at a time, and then a bit 
of wood is chpped away so that the next cut may 
be made. This cutting, also, should be done 
near, but not on, the line. After the model is 
roughly cut out, it should be worked down very 
carefully to the lines, the beveled edge cut, and 
then sandpapered smooth all over. The sand- 
paper must be put over a small block of wood, and 
held very flat. Otherwise it will spoil a straight 
surface. Then the graduations are to be put on. 
If nothing better is at hand, the spacing may be 
done with mother's tape measure. Lay off the 
spaces with the pointed end of the pencil, and then 
draw the lines which show the spacing, making 
those which show the sixteenths. Vie'' long; the 
eighths, Vs' long; the quarters, %g'' long; the 
halves, ^/ig", or the full width of the bevel. 
This must be done with a pencil, for ink would 
run into the wood and spread. The inch dimen- 
sions should be marked i, 2, 3, etc., and a light 
coat of shellac or varnish will add much to the 
durability of the scale. The back edge of the 
scale may be used as a straight edge, and to lay 
the pencil against for drawing lines, but it should 
be remembered that the scale itself — that is, the 



4 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

graduated side — must never be used for this. If 
it were, the graduations would soon be spoiled. 

The tool which is most necessary next to the 
scale IS the square (Fig. 4), and this should also 
be made with great accuracy. It is used to test 
two adjoining edges, to see if they are square 
with each other. In making anything of wood, 
one of the largest surfaces is generally made per- 





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fectly true, and marked with a little cross (x), 
designating it as the "face." One of the adjoin- 
ing edges — not a cross-grained one — is also made 
true and square with the first surface, and marked 
with a second cross, as the ''working edge." 
Then all the other measuring and squaring is 
done from these two surfaces. 

The piece of wood to be tested should be held 
in the left hand, on a level with the eye, and 



TOOLS FOR WHITTLING 5 

the square held in the right hand, with one of the 
inner edges resting against the wood, and the 
other projecting over it is moved back and forth. 
Any unevenness in the wood will readily be seen. 
The outside edges of the square may also be used 
for testing the evenness of wide flat surfaces. 
It is made like the pattern, of two strips of wood, 
with a fitted joint glued together. 

The knife strop shown in Fig. i is a great help 







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in whittling, because it will keep your knife in 
good condition. A piece of the heavier wood at 
the end of the ^gg crate may be used for this. It 
is made from a strip measuring i^'' wide by 11" 
long, and the strip of leather (cut from a dis- 
carded razor strop) is glued on. The ]4>'' bevel 
is continued all the way around the handle on 
both sides to make it fit the hand. The hole in 
the end is to hang it up by, and may be made 
with a hammer and nail, or with a bit and brace 
if you have one. 



6 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

The pencil sharpener (Fig. 2), is also a very 
necessary help in whittling and it is very simple 
to make. A strip of thin wood i^"x7" forms 
the foundation. This is narrowed down at the 
handle end to }i^\ The curves may be marked 
on the outline, free hand, and in cutting you must 
be very careful to remember the grain of the 
wood. The curves at the ends should be cut 






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from each side toward the middle of the end, 
gradually working into a crosscut. The curves 
at the sides must be cut from the wider part to- 
ward the handle, using the point of the knife, and 
working with great care so as not to split the 
wood. A strip of sandpaper i"x3" is glued on 
and the sharpener is complete. 

With these tools finished a boy is ready to be- 
gin some real whittling, and make other models 
which will be quite as useful, and very much more 
attractive. 




KNIFE-STROP 



HOW TO MAKE A PRACTICAL WORK- 
BENCH 

A GOOD practical workbench may be made 
by any boy who can handle the simplest 
tools and procure a little suitable lumber. 

The lumber should be bought at a lumber yard, 
in the rough, which will cost a great deal less 
than finished boards. 

It will require 26 ft. of two-by-four pine boards, 
12 ft. of two-by-six's, and 27^ ft. of one-by-six's. 
The two-by-four's cost one and three-quarters 
cents a running foot, the two-by-six's are two and 
a half cents, and the one-by-six's, one and a half 
cents. The boards come in regular lengths, from 
ten feet up to sixteen, or in some cases, up to 
twenty-four feet long. It will be best to get a 
twenty-four foot one-by-six board if possible, a 
twelve foot two-by-six, one twelve foot and one 
fourteen foot two-by-four. This will make the 
total cost for boards one dollar and twelve cents. 

Aside from the pine boards for the bench itself 
it will require a piece of oak measuring three by 
four inches and thirty-four inches long, for the 

7 



8 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

bench vise; a screw and handle for the vise (cost- 
ing thirty-five cents at any hardware store) ; a 
pound of four inch nails; and two square headed 
iron bolts, one half inch in diameter and four 
inches long, each fitted with two iron washers 
and one square nut. 

Saw off, first, from the twelve foot two-by- 
four, four pieces thirty-three inches long. These 
are the legs of the bench, and they are to stand 
with their broad four-inch faces toward the ends 
of the bench. Then cut in each one of these 
joints like those shown in Fig. i. The sides in 
which the joints are cut face toward each other 
at the ends of the bench and into them is fitted the 
supporting framework. 

For the lower framework cut from the four- 
teen foot two-by-four two pieces forty-two inches 
long and four pieces nineteen inches long. Two 
of the nineteen-inch pieces are to be left as they 
are, but the other two and the two forty-two inch 
pieces should have joints cut at the ends like Fig. 
2. These joints, as well as the joints in the up- 
rights, are cut with a saw, and the wood is split 
out with a chisel. Then these four jointed pieces 
are fitted together and glued or nailed to form a 
framework nineteen by forty-two inches. The 
four uprights are then fitted in place and nailed. 













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Diagrams of a Practical Work-bench. 
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Diagrams of a Practical Work-bench. 



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A PRACTICAL WORK-BENCH ii 

increasing the width of the ends to twenty-three 
inches. Then the other two nineteen-inch pieces 
are fitted into the top of the uprights across each 
end, and nailed in place. Four braces (Fig. 3) 
for the ends are made from two sixteen-inch 
pieces of the one-by-six stock. Each piece is first 
cut in two, lengthwise, with a rip saw. This 
makes four pieces twenty inches long by three 
inches wide. Mark the center joint of each end 
of each piece. Then measure on both sides, from 
each end, a distance of one and a half inches. 
Connect these points with the end points by a line 
and saw ofif the corners, leaving on each end a 
right-angled point. The braces are then nailed 
in place as shown in Fig. 4. 

This finishes the body part of the bench. 
Next, cut from the one-by-six board a piece fifty- 
six inches long. Fit it across the front of the 
frame, just even, or flush with the top, and pro- 
jecting seven inches beyond the uprights at either 
end. Then nail in position. 

Cut from the twelve foot two-by-six board two 
pieces fifty-six inches long. Place one of them 
across the top of the bench at the extreme front, 
so that it is flush with the wide surface of the 
front board. Nail this to the end framework and 
nail the second piece in position just back of it. 



12 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

It is necessary for this much of the top to be 
very heavy, for this is where the heavy strain of 
the work will come. The remainder of the top 
is made of two strips of one-by-six wood. In 
order to make this even with the two front strips 
which are thicker it is necessary to put pieces 
underneath it at each end. For these cut a piece 
of one-by-six board twelve inches long and rip it 
in two. Place these strips along the end frame, 
then place the top boards on them and nail all in 
position. When this is done the whole top of the 
bench may be made partially smooth, if it is de- 
sired, with a jack plane. Then cut one more 
strip of one-by-six fifty-six inches long and nail 
across the back of the bench, allowing it to project 
three inches above the top. 

The vise, as it comes from the store, consists of 
a long, straight, square-headed screw about an 
inch in diameter, which ends in a round iron 
plate and a T-shaped pipe. The plate is loose but 
not removable. Through the T a long wooden 
handle fits. Beside this there is an elliptical plate 
holding a threaded pipe which the screw works 
in. To put it together, first make a piece from 
the remaining two-by-six like Fig. 5. This piece 
forms the inner side of the vise and fits inside of 



A PRACTICAL WORK-BENCH 13 

the front piece of the bench, just touching the 
under side of the top, and outside of the lower 
framework. Its edge should be four inches in 
from tlie front leg of the bench. Corresponding 
holes are made with a bit and brace in the front 
piece of the bench and counter-sunk a half inch. 
The two pieces are then bolted together, the heads 
of the bolts and the iron washer fitting down in 
the counter-sink, and the other washer being 
placed under the nut on the other side. The re- 
ceptacle for the vise screw is fastened in position 
through the back of Fig. 5. 

Next, the piece of oak is prepared for the vise 
jaw. It is slanted off at the ends like Fig. 6, the 
outer edges rounded, a hole somewhat larger than 
the vise screw cut through as shown, and a joint 
cut through with chisel and hammer near the bot- 
tom. Into this joint fit Fig. 7, a piece of wood 
one by four inches and twelve inches long, which 
is intended to keep the jaws of the vise approx- 
imately even. It fits into the oak with a drive fit 
and has holes zigzagged or '^staggered" across it 
into which a round peg three inches fits. By 
placing this peg in different holes the bottom 
opening of the vise may be adjusted to correspond 
with the desired top opening. 



14 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

The long screw of the vise is sHpped through 
the hole made for it, and the plate is screwed in 
place. 




lYor^ Bench ComroCe^e,. 

This completes a bench which will prove a great 
help to the boy workman, and which takes 
scarcely more time in making than it has in de- 
scribing. 



WORKBENCH ACCESSORIES 

WHEN you have made yourself this fine, big 
workbench you will find out very soon 
that there are a number of workbench accesso- 
ries which will make it much more convenient and 
desirable. 

The first thing that will be missed is a tool 
rack. With tools scattered all over the bench it 
is difficult to do good work. It means a waste 
of time and sometimes a waste of temper, while, 
if the tools are hanging right before one's eyes 
in an orderly row, each one may be taken as it is 
needed, and replaced again when one is through, 
and the work will go on smoothly. 

A single pine board six inches wide, one inch 
thick and sixteen feet long will make all the ac- 
cessories one can want. It is better to procure a 
finished board from the planing mill. It will cost 
three or four cents a running foot — a total cost at 
the most of sixty-four cents. 

For the tool rack cut from the board two fifty-six- 
inch lengths. Cut one of these in two lengthwise 
with a rip saw and plane the sawed edge smooth 

IS 



1 6 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

and square with the face or wide, flat side of the 
board. With a pencil and scale mark the posi- 
tions on the centers of the holes shown in Fig. i. 
Then when the centers have been determined, 
drill them according to the sizes indicated, with a 
bit and brace. The first three holes at the left 
are to hold bits; the next two, chisel and gouge, 
and the others are for screw-drivers. These 
latter four, after the holes are drilled, are made 
open clear to the edge of the rack by sawing out 
a section from the front. This makes it pos- 
sible to take the tools out without lifting them en- 
tirely out of the rack. From the right-hand end 
mark off a distance of twelve inches. Then, 
from the end to this line, cut two grooves as 
shown in the drawiilg. The forward one is 
rounded out with a gouge to hold a pencil while 
the back one is square and flat, cut with a chisel, 
to hold either a twelve-inch scale or a folded two- 
foot rule. In the front edge of this piece, about 
six inches from the right-hand end is driven a 
nail to hold the claw hammer. 

The fifty-six-inch length which was not ripped 
in two is fitted at right angles to the back of this 
rack, lapping over the edge and flush with the 
top. It is nailed in position and two supporting 
brackets like Fig. 2 are fitted under each end of 





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Diagrams of Work-bench Accessories. 
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1 8 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

the rack for strength. When this is all fastened 
together, the whole rack is set up on top of the 
back pieces of the workbench and held in place 
by two cleats, three inches by eight which are 
screwed to both the back piece of the bench and 
the back piece of the rack. 

Underneath the holes for the bits there should 
be two nails to hold the brace. The jack plane, 
block plane, and spoke shave may stand on the 
bench underneath the rack, and screws or nails 
at the end of the bench will hold rip saw, cross- 
cut saw, and dust brush. 

Next in usefulness is the bench block shown in 
Fig. 3. For this cut one piece of wood six inches 
by eleven, and two pieces, six inches by two 
inches. All these pieces must have the grain 
running in the longest direction. When these 
are trued up, fit them together as shown, and 
fasten with one-and-three-quarter-inch wood 
screws. After completing this the corners are 
cut off. The block fits over the front edge of the 
bench near the right-hand end and forms a brace 
when one wants to hold a piece of wood steady 
for sawing. 

Next comes the bench stop, Fig. 4. When one 
is planing a wide, flat board the vise is useless. 
So holes are drilled in pairs in the top of the 



WORK-BENCH ACCESSORIES 19 

bench itself, and these bench stops are shpped in 
to form a buffer. A Httle piece of wood one by 
one by two is used, the grain of course running 
the long way. For half of the distance the stop 
remains square, while the other inch is rounded 
with a chisel to fit into the hole, which should be 
slightly more than an inch deep. Two of these 
stops will be needed. 

Every workbench needs a nail box. A good 
one may be made from two pieces three inches 
wide by fourteen inches long, which form the 
sides, two ends three inches by three, and a bot- 
tom piece five inches by fourteen. The side pieces 
are nailed to the end pieces, fitting over them, and 
the bottom fits over all. This makes the inside 
measurements three inches by twelve. Of course 
it is desirable to keep the different sizes of nails 
separate, so this is divided into as many compart- 
ments as are desired by partitions. These can be 
made from any old piece of wood about a half 
inch thick. They measure three by three inches 
and may be spaced however you like, except the 
one which is shown in Fig. 5. This is to be 
placed in the middle and forms a handle as well 
as a partition. Just as convenient, though not 
quite as necessary, is a miter box. It consists of 
two side pieces five inches by twelve, and one bot- 



20 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

torn piece four inches by twelve. The side pieces 
fit down over the edges of the bottom piece and 
are nailed fast. There are no ends. When this 
much is done, take a forty-five degree triangle, 
and mark across the two top edges one perpen- 
dicular line, and one forty-five degree line in each 
direction, making them so that they do not over- 
lap. Then saw straight down from these lines 
to the bottom piece. A miter box will prove 
itself a great convenience in sawing the corners 
of molding or anything which requires a fitted 
corner. The piece to be sawed is held firmly in 
the box and the saw guided through the slots. 

When a boy has made the bench and all these 
accessories, and has some tools, he will be 
equipped for big practical work. 



HOW TO MAKE A TURNING LATHE 

MOST boys have a speaking acquaintance 
with a turning lathe. Some boys know 
how to use one with good results. But to use 
one and own it too — that is a joy which few boys 
experience. 

After all, though, a lathe is not such a for- 
midable machine, and if a boy is quick at catch- 
ing an idea and working it out he can make one 
for himself. 

Most of the material can be procured from 
some machine shop at practically no cost, and the 
parts that have to be bought outright will cost 
very little. 

The foundation may be an old sewing-machine 
stand and the lathe is run, just as a sewing ma- 
chine is, by foot power. In almost any junk shop 
or second hand shop you will find an old out-of- 
date sewing machine for sale. New machines 
can be bought so cheaply nowadays that a sec- 
ond hand one costs next to nothing. 

When you have procured this you must take it 
to pieces. The wooden top part is fastened to the 

21 



22 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

iron frame by screws from underneath. Take 
these out, and the top and drawer at the sides 
may be Hfted right off. Then take out the screw 
at the right hand side of the machine part and 
slip off the upper belt wheel. This upper belt 
wheel, the belt, the lower belt wheel, and the iron 
framework of the machine are all that will be 
needed for the lathe, and the rest you may discard, 
or put away in the ''handy" pile for some future 
construction. The lower belt wheel is of course 
fastened to the frame, so that does not need to be 
disturbed. 

Next get a piece of hickory or some other hard 
wood twelve inches wide, three feet long and one- 
and-one-half inches thick. Cut a long, narrow 
slot in this from one end as is shown in Fig. i. 
Then fasten this piece to the top of the iron frame 
with the same screws that fastened the top of the 
machine on before. The solid end of the wood 
should project two inches beyond the right-hand 
end of the frame where the belt is, and the 
slotted end will of course extend somewhat be- 
yond the frame at the left. This is what is called 
the "bed" of the lathe. Now bore the two holes 
which the belt goes through. 

When this is done, measure the hole in the 
center of the upper belt wheel, where the shaft 



MAKING A TURNING LATHE 23 

went through. It will probably be one half inch 
in diameter. Then get a piece of gas pipe twelve 
inches long and of the same diameter, outside 
measurement, as the hole, so that the wheel may 
be put on it with a "drive fit." This simply 
means that the wheel fits so tightly that it must 
be driven on and, once on, it will not turn. It 
should be driven on far enough so that when the 
groove for the belt is in line with the groove on 
the lower belt wheel, the pipe will project the half 
inch beyond the solid end of the bed. 

Now you must make two supports, or "head 
blocks" for this. Cut from two-inch-thick hard 
wood two pieces like Fig. 2. The square hole is 
for the gas pipe to go through and must have a 
bearing fitted into it. Of course it would be 
easier to cut just a round hole slightly larger than 
the pipe for it to turn in, but this bearing, with 
much turning, would wear loose. So a one-inch 
square hole is cut; the gas pipe, with a piece of 
newspaper wrapped around it, is held in the exact 
center of the hole, the head block standing up- 
right; and melted Babbitt metal is poured down 
through the hole in the top of the block. To do 
this pieces of cardboard should be fitted over the 
pipe and tacked to either side of the block, so 
that the space inside is like a mold. The metal 







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Diagrams of a Turning Lathe. 



[24] 



MAKING A TURNING LATHE 25 

which remains in the top hole forms a key to hold 
it. The Babbitt metal may be bought at a hard- 
ware store in small bars and melted in a kettle in 
the fire. It hardens quickly and when hard, the 
pipe may be removed, the paper taken off and you 
will have a permanent, durable bearing. 

Slip one of these head blocks on the pipe from 
each end, with an iron washer on each side of 
each block. The right hand block should be 
''flush" with the end of the bed, the pipe project- 
ing a half inch beyond it. The other block 
should be spaced two inches back from the ends 
of the slot in the bed. The blocks are fastened 
to the bed with long wood screws which come up 
through the bed from underneath, and they are 
held in position on the gas pipe by making ''prick 
punch" holes through the pipe close to the wash- 
ers and using either "cotter pins" or bent wire 
through these. Then the end of the pipe, which 
projects over the slot should be filed so that it has 
four points, or teeth. This completes the head 
of the lathe, and is much the most complicated 
part. 

The rest of the lathe consists of a "tail block" 
and a tool rest, both of which are adjustable to 
any position desired. Fig. 3 shows the tail block. 
Like the head blocks, it is made of two-inch thick 



26 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

stock. The bottom of it is cut to slide back and 
forth in the slot. Just underneath it, on the 
under side of the bed, is a piece of wood four 
inches by two inches and one-inch thick which is 
fastened to the tail block by a screw through the 
center and which clamps the block in position at 
any required distance. At the point marked 'T" 
a "lag" screw, which is simply a wood screw with 
a sharp point and a large flat head, is screwed 
through the block. The piece of wood to be 
turned is held in place by this lag screw and the 
filed teeth on the gas pipe. 

The pieces of the tool rest are shown in Fig. 4 
and Fig. 5. Fig. 6 shows it as it looks when it 
is put together in place on the bed of the lathe. 

Fig. 4 shows the tool rest itself — that is, the 
part upon which the chisel or gouge is steadied 
for cutting. This is fastened upright upon the 
end of Fig. 5, which is a standard which extends 
across the bed and is clamped in place, as the tail 
block is, to a block underneath, except that, in- 
stead of being screwed, it is fastened with a three- 
eighth inch bolt and nut. 

Fig. 7 shows the whole lathe "assembled," or 
put together with each part marked according to 
its figure numbers so that you can see just how it 
goes. 



MAKING A TURNING LATHE 27 




F,a 7 



All the material it has required has been : 

One old sewing machine. 

About fifty cents' worth of hard wood. 

One three-inch lag screw. 



28 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

One three-eighths-inch bolt five inches long, 

with nut and washer. 
Four iron washers for gas pipe. 
One foot of gas pipe. 
Seven three-inch wood screws. 
A few cents' worth of Babbitt metal. 

The result is a good practical lathe on which 
anything up to eight inches in diameter and 
twenty-one inches long may be turned; and I 
think you'll all agree that it was well worth the 
making. 



HOW TO MAKE A TOY TRAIN 

CLEAR the track there! Push the crib 
over in the corner. Pick up those blocks. 
Shove the doll's house and blackboard out of the 
way. Hurry and put the old red candy lantern 
out of sight. We don't want any danger sig- 
nals here. The Twentieth Century Limited — 
the Fast Special of the play room — is coming. 

The construction of the Twentieth Century 
Limited follows close upon the making of zvJiit- 
tling tools. A little train it is, just an engine, 
coal car, baggage car, and one passenger coach, 
but of course there may be any number of addi- 
tional cars coupled on, provided the train proves 
popular and the nursery traffic is heavy. The 
train is made from cigar boxes. The floor of the 
engine is made from a flat piece of wood, two 
inches wide by four and one-half inches long, cut 
perfectly true and then pointed at one end (Fig. 
i). Then the cab is made. Fig. 2 shows the 
front of it — a piece of wood measuring two inches 
by one and three-quarters, and having two little 
holes three-eighths of an inch scjuare cut for win- 

29 



30 BOYS' xMAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

dows. The side pieces are an inch and a quarter 
by two inches, cut in the shape of Fig. 3, and each 
has one Httle window. The roof is an oblong 
piece two inches by one and a half. When the 
whole cab has been nailed together, it is placed in 
position on the floor of the engine, about a quar- 
ter of an inch from the rear end, and nailed there. 
For the boiler you can use one of mother's bast- 
ing thread spools. Chip off the ends, making 
them even with the part where the thread was 
wound, and then nail it to the floor from under- 
neath. A spot on the upper side of the boiler is 
smoothed off, and a tiny spool is glued on for a 
smoke stack. The forward wheels are made 
from circular pieces an inch in diameter, and the 
"drivers'' from pieces an inch and a half in di- 
ameter. Then there are bearings for the wheels, 
like Fig. 4, those for the smaller wheels being an 
inch long, and those for the larger wheels three- 
quarters of an inch in length. They are glued 
to each side of the floor piece and the axles, made 
from lollypop sticks, are slipped through. These 
are cut three inches long, which allows plenty of 
room for the wheels to turn, and for a little nail 
to be put through like a cotter pin, to hold them 
on. 

The coal car floor measures two inches square, 



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Diagrams of a Toy Train. 



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Diagrams of a Toy Train. 
[32] 



HOW TO MAKE A TOY TRAIN ^^ 

the sides two inches by one, and the ends one and 
three-quarters by one. These are nailed together 
to form a httle box, and four wheels and bearings 
like the forward ones on the engine are made. 
The couplings are made from little round brass 
hooks, the one on the forward end of each car be- 
ing horizontal, and the one in the rear end per- 
pendicular. 

The baggage car is a triumph of whittling, for 
it has a door that will slide back and forth just 
like a real one. The bottom and top of the car 
are oblong pieces of wood tw^o inches by four and 
a half, and the end pieces measure two by two 
and a quarter inches. The sides are made like 
Fig"- 5, with an opening an inch and a quarter 
square for a doorway. On the inside of the side 
pieces, extending to within a half inch of each 
end, and starting about an eighth of an inch from 
the top a groove is cut, the depth of the groove 
being about a quarter of an inch. The door it- 
self is one and thirteen-sixteenths inches high by 
two inches wide, and has two very small, flat- 
headed, wood screws, screwed in near the top at 
an angle, so that the heads rest in this groove, 
and slide back and forth. Above the door is a 
strip of wood an eighth of an inch wide, and out- 
side of this another strip a quarter of an inch 



34 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

wide, both of which are nailed in position, and 
keep the door from shpping out of the groove. 
Another screw forms a handle for the door, and 
when the car is put together it is not at all ap- 
parent how the door slides. Fig. 6 is a section 
cut through the side, above the doorway, and 
shows the groove and how the strips are put on. 
For the passenger car the floor is made first — 
like Fig. 7 — the car floor itself measuring two 
inches by four and one-half, with a projection one 
inch by five-eighths at each end for a platform. 
The sides of the car (Fig. 8), are two inches by 
four and a half, with three holes one inch wide by 
three-quarters high for Pullman windows. The 
ends of the car are like Fig. 9. They are slipped 
over the platforms, the space one and one quar- 
ter inch by a half inch forming a doorway and 
the lower ends extending below the platform to 
form the side of the steps. The end of the plat- 
form is a piece measuring one inch by two inches, 
and is nailed in position so that the lower edge 
of it is even with the lower edge of the side pieces, 
the remainder of it extending above the platform 
for a railing. There are two steps on each side 
at each end — eight steps in all. The bottom ones 
measure a quarter of an inch wide and three- 
quarters of an inch long, while the upper ones are 



HOW TO MAKE A TOY TRAIN 35 

the same width, but only a half inch long, for they 
have to fit in between the ends of the car, and the 
ends of the platform. The roof of the car is like 
Fig. 10 — a piece two inches by six and one-half 
inches with rounded ends, extending well over 
the platforms. Both the passenger and baggage 
cars have wheels exactly hke the coal car. 
When these are done the train is coupled, and 
away she speeds. ''Clear the track there! The 
Twentieth Century Limited is just pulling into 
Chicago, and she has made the trip from New 
York in eighteen hours." 



OUT-DOOR TOYS 

THIS set of whittled out-door toys ought to 
please almost any boy. With kite and fish 
line time coming soon and the wind blowing a 
gale for your weather vane, and the other fellows 
out ready to play *'cat'' — well, let's see how to 
make all these toys. 

The kite stick in Fig. i is made from a piece of 
pine wood eight inches long, and, roughly cut 
out, about three-quarters of an inch square. 
This is smoothed down to five-eighths of an inch, 
and then you start in to make it round. First 
the four corners of the square are trimmed off 
evenly for the full length, making it an eight- 
sided stick, and then these corners are again 
trimmed, until finally the stick is round enough to 
be sandpapered smooth. It is better to draw a 
five-eighth inch circle on each end of the stick be- 
fore you trim it down, so that you can see whether 
you are making a true round. When the line for 
the bevel is marked around one-eighth of an inch 
from the ends, the bevel is cut, the notch is cut 

37 



38 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

around the middle, and the stick is ready to tie 
your kite string to. 

For the reel in Fig. 2 and also the weather vane 
in Fig. 7, it is better to select a piece of wood 
which is already "dressed'' — that is, finished 
smooth to the thickness you require, because it is 
hard to make a broad surface true with a jack 
knife. Cigar boxes are three-sixteenths of an 
inch thick, and a piece of one will make a good, 
stout reel. In making all of these toys, the pat- 
tern should be drawn on the wood as far as pos- 
sible with pencil, scale, and straight edge, before 
any cutting is done. The reel should be cut first 
into an oblong, two and a quarter inches by four 
and a quarter, then the corners are rounded so 
that the line will not catch on them, and lastly 
the "recessed edge'' where the line is to be wound 
is made, cutting from each end of the opening to- 
ward the center, and gradually working it down 
even. 

There are not many boys who don't know how 
to play "cat." It requires a good deal of skill, 
and if you don't break anybody's window or put 
out anybody's eye, it's a lot of fun. It requires 
two boys to play this game. You lay the cat 
down flat — as in Fig. 3 — and, with the stick (Fig. 
4), held by the octagonal end, hit the cat sharply 




• 




(a) whittled weather vane, (b) kite stick: 

FISH LINE. (C) "cat" STICK 



'CAT 



REEL FOR 



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Diagrams of a Kite Stick. Reel, "Cat," "Cat" Stick, and 
Weather Vane. 

[39] 



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Diagrams of a Weather Vane. 



[40] 



OUT-DOOR TOYS 41 

on one end, and as it flies up bat it forward. It 
is up to the other fellow to catch it, and if he does, 
it counts you out, and gives him a turn. But if 
he doesn't catch it, you measure with the stick, 
end over end from where you stand to where the 
cat has fallen, and that counts so many points for 
you. Then the other fellow has another chance 
to count you out by throwing the cat from where 
it fell and trying to hit your stick. If it falls 
short or goes beyond, you again measure the dis- 
tance with your stick, and that too counts in your 
favor. 

The cat is made from a piece of pine four 
inches long and an inch square. The center sec- 
tion is marked off and then a line is drawn ex- 
actly across the middle of each end — not diago- 
nally, but straight up and down. The sides are 
slanted down to this line, like a wedge, and then 
the other two sides are slanted to the middle point 
at each end. The wood for the stick is twelve 
inches long and five-eighths of an inch square, and 
is worked down just as the kite stick was, except 
that the handle is left eight sided, while the rest 
is made round. The octagon and circle which 
are shown with parallel diagonal lines on them 
are ''cross sections" and show what the stick 



42 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

would look like if it were cut straight through at 
that point. 

The weather vane is the hardest toy to make. 
Fig. 5 shows three views of one piece of the wheel 
— a top view, a front view, and an end view, — 
just as though you looked at the piece in front and 
then squarely at the top, and then turned it 
around and looked at the end. A piece of wood 
three-quarters of an inch square by five inches 
long is used for this, and two of them are made 
and fitted together — making a wheel with four 
arms. It is better to cut the section for the joint 
first, for the wood is less apt to split before it has 
been weakened by any other cutting. This is a 
similar cutting to that in the reel, except that the 
grain lies in the opposite direction, and the cut- 
ting should be done from the center of the open- 
ing toward each end. Then opposite corners are 
slanted down so that the ends of the arms are 
thin and aslant to catch the wind, as the end view 
shows. The dotted lines are the edges which are 
not visible. After the two pieces are fitted to- 
gether a two-inch nail is driven through both 
and into the end of Fig. 6, which is not beveled. 
It should be turned around until it works loosely 
and will turn easily in the wind. 

The stick in Fig. 6 is seven and three-eighths 



OUT-DOOR TOYS 43 

inches long by a half inch square. After the 
section three-quarters of an inch long, where the 
nail hole is shown, and which remains square, is 
marked off, the rest of the stick is made eight 
sided. Then the eight-inch bevel shown on the 
end is cut, and, for a distance of two and a half 
inches from that end, a V-shaped groove is cut 
on two opposite sides. This end of the stick is to 
slide into the opening in the end of the wing 
(Fig. 7). Another two-inch nail joins this piece 
to the upright stick (Fig. 8) and forms a pivot 
for it to swing around on. The wing is a flat 
piece six and a half inches long by two and a 
half wide. The curves are laid out with a com- 
pass (R. in the measurements denotes radius) 
and the 2>^ ''-opening is made as shown in one 
end. The little cross-section shows how it is cut 
to a pointed edge which slides into the groove in 
Fig. 6. 

The upright stick is nine inches long by three- 
quarters of an inch square, and is worked down 
similarly to the other sticks, except that the end 
which is round is tapered from three-quarters to 
one-half inch. The ''break" in the drawing sim- 
ply means that it is longer than is actually shown. 
When the windmill is fitted together and put out 
where it will catch the wind, a boy will find that 
it was well worth making. 



HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DESK 
SET 

A DESK set is a great addition to a boy's 
desk. If he has a pen tray he knows where 
his pencils and pens are to be found without 
rummaging through a tangled mess of top 
strings and marble bags and nails. If he puts 
away on the bill file that / Owe You that Billy 
Smith gave him for a pair of rabbits, it won't be 
all crumpled up and beyond identification when 
Billy gets his next month's allowance. When 
you come to think of it, a desk set has a great 
many advantages — and then, there's the fun of 
making it. 

The desk set which is shown in the picture 
comprises five pieces — an ink well stand, a bill 
file, a pen tray, an envelope opener, and a book 
rack. It is all, with the exception of the envelope 
opener, made of one-eighth-inch basswood. 

For the ink well stand (Fig. i) use a piece of 
wood, four inches square. The two-and-a-half- 
inch opening — which is the size of the average 
glass ink well — should be cut first, before the 

45 



46 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

corners are weakened by cutting out the half- 
inch rounds. After this is done, cut the corners, 
and last, the eight-inch bevel. Fig. 2 shows 
one of the feet of the ink well. It is shown, by 
dotted lines, in position in Fig. i. The four feet 
are glued to the bottom of Fig. i and the inside 
corners project inside the opening, making four 
half-inch squares on which the ink well may rest. 
The feet are made from pieces of wood one and 
seven-eighths inches square, cut in the shape 
shown, and ornamented with a little design in 
"chip'' carving. This chip carving is ordinarily 
done with what is called a skew chisel — that is, 
a chisel which is not square at the end, but which 
has one point an eighth of an inch or more longer 
than the other, so that when it is put into the 
wood, one end of the cut will be deep while the 
other is barely cut out at all. However, it may 
be done with a jack knife, if you are very careful. 
In the "motif" shown in Fig. 2, the points where 
the three lines from adjoining corners meet are 
where the deepest part of the cuts should be. 
This is done with the knife held point down and 
the thumb on the end of the handle. Then, with 
the knife still in the same position in the hand, 
you chip out the wood with a sliding cut toward 
you, slanting it down to the depth of the cut. It 




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Diagrams of an Ink Well Stand, a Bill File and a Pen Tray. 

[47] 




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Diagrams of a Pen Tray, an Envelope Opener and a Book 

Rack. 

[48] 



YOUR OWN DESK SET 49 

is a little difficult to describe this without seeing 
it done, but if you look at the patterns and the 
photographs, and experiment a little on a piece 
of wood, you will find it easy. 

Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show the bill file. Fig. 3 is 
made from a three and a quarter-inch square, 
cut similarly to the foot of the ink well, and with 
the same motif carved on each corner. It 
should be remembered in cutting the recessed 
edges that the sides running zvitJi the grain must 
be cut front each end, and the cross-cut sides cut 
fozvard each end. Fig. 4 is cut like Fig. i, ex- 
cept that there is no opening in it. It is then 
glued to the top of Fig. 3, and a three-inch nail 
is driven up through the center. 

Fig. 5 shows one side of the pen tray. It is 
made from a piece of wood nine inches long at the 
bottom, tapered to seven and three-eighths inches 
at the top, and one and seven-eighth inches wide. 
The motif for the carving is made by putting to- 
gether two of the squares shown in Fig. 2 and 
then repeating this again and again. It makes a 
very pretty and effective decoration. Fig. 6 is 
one of the end pieces, and is decorated in the 
same way. Fig. 7 is a cross-section showing the 
construction of the pen tray. For this you 
should first make two oblongs, seven and three- 



50 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

eighth inches long, one of them being one and 
three-eighths, and the other, one and one-half 
inches wide. These are fastened together at 
right angles, the long one topping over the 
shorter, with tiny nails. Then a piece measur- 
ing two inches by one and one-quarter is nailed 
to each end, to hold the tray firm. Next, the top 
edge all around is beveled — the side edges, so 
that the sides (Fig. 5) may be fitted on straight 
up and down, and the ends, at such an angle that 
they will not interfere in putting on the end pieces 
(Fig. 6). Then the sides and ends are glued in 
position, and the tray is finished. 

For the envelope opener in Fig. 8, a piece of 
gum wood five and a half inches long by a half 
inch square is used. For two and a half inches 
from the end it is reduced to an octagonal 
shape. Then the notches are cut, and the end 
of the handle — four sides only, not the entire 
eight — beveled. Then the blade is cut, curv- 
ing down from the handle, and reducing the 
blade to an even thickness of an eighth of an 
inch. When this is quite even the end is pointed, 
and the entire outside edge of the blade is beveled 
down from both sides, to a cutting edge. 

The base of the book rack (Figs. 9 and 10), is 
made from two pieces of wood measuring four 



YOUR OWN DESK SET 51 

inches by nine, which are cut as shown, to fit and 
sHde within each other. It measures thirteen 
inches, closed, and sixteen inches, open. A good 
way to fasten the pieces together so that they 
wall slide easily and yet be firm, is with strips 
of thin sheet brass, which can be bought very 
cheaply. A strip three-quarters of an inch wide 
is passed around the rack at D with both pieces 
in position, lapped and fastened to D. Another 
similar piece is passed around at C and fastened 
to C Then the ends (Fig. 11) are made. This 
requires two pieces four inches wide by four and 
a half long, with the grain running up and down. 
The top is made a little prettier by a semi-circular 
curve and a reverse quarter circle at each side of 
it. The deep carving is a trifle more elaborate 
than on the other things, and must be done care- 
fully where the cuts all meet at the bottom. 

After measuring and finding the position of the 
points "a'' and ''b" you should use these as cen- 
ters from which to make the curves which deter- 
mine the outline of your design. The cutting is 
done exactly as you did before. When these are 
finished they should be fastened on top of the 
base, at either end, with little brass hinges on the 
inside. A strip of wood four inches long by 
three-quarters of an inch wide is placed at the 



52 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

lower edge of the end pieces, on the outside, for 
added strength, and the screws fastening the 
hinges will hold it in place. 

This completes the actual making of the desk 
set. It may be sandpapered, or it may be var- 
nished, or, if you are fortunate enough to have a 
mission desk, it may be stained to match. In any 
case it is worth having. 



WILD ANIMALS YOU CAN MAKE 

WITH a circus folder or animal book for a 
copy, a few old cigar boxes, and a jack 
knife, a very lively and life-like menagerie can 
be made. 

Cut the cigar boxes apart, and sandpaper the 
pieces very smooth. Then take a pencil and 
sketch as well as you can the animals in the pic- 
tures — at least the bodies of them, for the legs 
are to be attached afterward, so that they can 
stand and "do things." 

The cutting must be done very, very carefully, 
for the outlines make so many different angles 
with the grain of the wood. It is not in the least 
like straight cutting with the grain, or even 
straight cross-cutting, and the wood has an irri- 
tating habit of splitting off some vital part of 
the animal's anatomy. 

It is impossible to make the tails out of wood, 
so they are made of heavy string, glued in place. 
For the monkey, you can make a tail of wire, so 
that he can swing by it. 

Make the legs of the animals separately and 

53 




hnnoQ 



Hfppo's /LCr^ Hr/0/(PO\5 /^o^ 





l^^er'^ /^rnd /<?^ 



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Patterns of Hippo and Tiger. 
[54] 




WHITTLED WILD ANIMALS 

Giraffe, Camel 




(5trV/<»* l-^f- 



Patterns of Monkey and Giraffe. 
I55] 





Benr's Le 



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Lion's FoTC LCi 



Leans Hind Ceo, 



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Patterns of Bear and Lion. 
[56] 



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WHITTLED WILD ANIMALS 

Bear, Lion, "Darwin" 



WILD ANIMALS YOU CAN MAKE 57 

fasten them on to the bodies with tiny nails. 
Place the two fore legs or two hind legs in posi- 
tion on either side of the body piece, and drive 
through them a short wire nail, a very little 
longer than is necessary to go through the three 
thicknesses of wood. Then rest the head of the 
nail on a piece of iron, and hammer the point, 
forming a little rivet to pivot the legs. The feet 
must also be made separately, and fastened on in 
the same way, so that, whatever position the legs 
are in, the feet will remain level. 



HOW TO MAKE A SET OF MISSION 
FURNITURE 

AVERY attractive set of furniture suitable 
for a doll's nursery, may be whittled from 
pieces of old cigar boxes. It consists of four 
pieces — a "Craftsman" bed, a chair, a table, and 
a chest of drawers. 

For the head of the bed take a piece of wood 
four inches square, and, placing it with the grain 
of the wood running up and down, mark it out 
like Fig. I. As a general rule, the grain of the 
wood should lie with the longest dimension, but 
in all the upright pieces of this set it must run up 
and down. Outline first the "recessed edge," 
which forms the legs of the bed, scoring it lightly 
with the point of the knife. Then cutting a little 
bit out at a time, and working from the center 
toward each end, bring it down to the line. The 
two openings, an eighth of an inch by a half inch, 
for the joints, must be cut with the point of the 
knife — the ends first, then the sides, and lastly 
the wood is chipped out, and the opening is 
evened up. The foot of the bed is identical with 

59 



6o BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

the head except that is three inches high instead 
of four. 

Next come the side pieces — two pieces seven 
inches long and one inch wide, cut Hke Fig. 2. 
The half-inch ends slide through the openings in 
the head and foot of the bed, and fasten with lit- 
tle wedge-shaped pegs like Fig. 5. Inside each 
of these side pieces, and "flush" with the bottom 
edge, glue a strip cut like Fig. 3, and fit in five 
little slats three and three-eighths inches long by 
a half inch wide (Fig. 4). Then, to c-omplete it 
and make it look as much like a Craftsman bed as 
possible, paste on the head a panel of light brown 
wrapping paper, on which are four little conven- 
tional kittens, painted in Van Dyke brown. 

The top of the table (Fig. 6) is a piece four 
inches square. The end pieces (Fig. 7) are cut 
similarly to the head and foot of the bed, with the 
same recessed edge and the same openings, vary- 
ing only in the outside dimensions. The sides 
too (Fig. 8), are similar to the sides of the bed, 
except that they are of course, much shorter. 
Slip them through the openings in the end pieces, 
fasten them with four little pegs, glue the top on, 
and the table is done. 

The chair is built on the same general lines as 
the table and bed. The chair back (Fig. 9) meas- 




DOLLS CHAIU AND TABLE, WHITTLED IN MISSION STYLE 






















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Diagrams of a Chair and a Chest of Drawers. 
[62] 



A SET OF MISSION FURNITURE 63 

ures two and a quarter inches wide by three and 
one-half inches high, while the front upright 
piece is exactly similar but only an inch and one- 
half high — just high enough for dolly to swing 
her feet comfortably. When these and the side 
pieces (Fig. 10) are done and put together, glue 
on a piece one and five-eighths inches by two and 
a quarter (Fig. 11) for the seat. 

The construction of the chest of drawers is a 
little more elaborate. Make first two side pieces 
like Fig 12. They measure two and a quarter 
inches wide by three and one-half high, and have 
a recessed edge a quarter of an inch deep at the 
bottom to form feet, and three openings in each 
side for the partitions between the drawers. 
There are one deep drawer at the top, and two 
shallower ones below it. Make three pieces like 
Fig. 13, four inches long by one and three-quar- 
ters wide. The little square and piece for the 
joint are not exactly in the middle, and the longer 
space goes toward the back, but is intended to 
leave a little open space of a half inch at the back. 

Next make three pieces for the fronts of the 
drawers (Fig. 14), two of them five-eighths of 
an inch wide, and one measuring an inch and a 
quarter. In each of these make two holes for the 
knobs. The drawers themselves (Fig. 15) are 



64 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

made of light weight pasteboard, 'ihe bottom 
dimensions remain the same of course for all — 
two and three-quarter inches by two — but the 
depths of the sides must be one and one-quarter 
inches for the wider, and five-eighths of an inch 
for the narrower ones. When these are cut out, 
fold them on the dotted lines to form a box, with 
the sides which lap over each other at the front. 
The knobs of the drawers are made of large 
beads. Put a piece of string through each bead, 
and then push the two ends of string through the 
hole in the front of the drawer, and through a 
corresponding hole in the pasteboard drawer 
itself. Then tie the two ends of string from the 
right-hand knob to the two pieces from the left- 
hand knob in a firm square knot, accomplishing 
the triple purpose of holding the knobs in posi- 
tion, fastening the front piece on to the drawer, 
and holding the drawer in shape. An oblong 
piece of wood two and a quarter inches by three 
and a quarter (Fig. i6) makes the top, and an- 
other four inches by three and a quarter forms 
the back. 



TOYS THAT HIDE IN THE WOOD BOX 

THE farm barn with its loft hung with cob- 
webs and the great hay mows, and the farm 
wagons to scramble out and in is surely a delight 
to the country boy; but if one corner of the barn 
has a big pile of clean, smooth blocks and sticks 
of kindling wood, the charm of the place will be 
redoubled. 

A glance, only, at a heap of ordinary, every- 
day kindling wood will suggest all sorts of plays 
to the resourceful boy. With the aid of a few 
simple tools, a hammer, a light saw, and some 
wire nails, the pieces of wood may be changed 
into crude, but realistic toys that will give the 
little folks quite as much pleasure as any to be 
found in a toy shop. 

Look, first, at the building possibilities of a 
pile of kindling wood. The long, straight sticks 
may be balanced on the barn floor to represent 
a regiment of soldiers. With penciled faces, 
and soldier caps they make very fine little men; 
and if there are two opposing armies, a most ex- 
citing sham battle may be carried on with horse 

65 



66 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

chestnuts and green apples for ammunition, and 
a prize for the general whose kindling-wood 
forces stand up the longest. 

A miniature pig pen may be built by piling up 
kindling-wood sticks in log-cabin fashion. The 
sticks selected for the pen should be, as nearly 
as possible, of the same length. Two sticks 
should be laid parallel. These are then con- 
nected by laying other sticks across their ends. 
The boy should continue building in this man- 
ner until the pig pen is of a good height. A 
very fine, fat pig may be made of a small cucum- 
ber, having twigs stuck into his body for legs, 
one of the vine tendrils for a curly tail and melon 
seeds for ears. 

A log house is constructed by building a foun- 
dation similar to the pig pen. The roof is 
formed by laying a row of sticks, quite close to- 
gether, across the top. A family of little clothes 
pin dolls may live most comfortably in a kindling 
wood house. 

In front of the house there should be a strong, 
rail fence to protect the inmates from any In- 
dians who may come in while the builder is away. 
To build a Virginia rail fence, two sticks of 
kindling wood should be crossed in the shape of 
a letter V. A third stick is added at a similar 



TOYS IN THE WOOD BOX 6j 

angle with the second stick. This form of build- 
ing is continued until the fence is of the required 
length. Going back to the first stick, a second 
layer of sticks is started on top of the first layer ; 
and the fence may be built as high as one wishes 
by the addition of a third and a fourth layer. 

There are ever so many playthings that can 
be built from the wood found in the wood pile. 
A boy who is clever with his jack knife will be 
able to make a set of ten pins from sticks of 
kindling wood by carving little round heads at 
the ends of the sticks. Very straight bits of 
wood which will balance well should be chosen 
for the ten pins. He can also carve quaint 
wooden dolls for the little sister. 

The accompanying illustration shows a toy 
barnyard that was made by a group of children. 
Their only tools were a couple of hammers, a toy 
saw, some nails and a jack knife. The only ma- 
terials used were found in the wood pile in the 
wood-shed. 

The barnyard fence is constructed from lath. 
Long strips are used for the bars of the fence. 
The fence posts are bits of lath, also, carved in 
six-inch lengths, pointed at the top with a knife, 
and nailed to the longer strips. Bits of leather 
are tacked in place for the gate hinges. Bits of 



68 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

kindling wood split into narrow sections are 
nailed together for the pig pen and the cow shed. 
Some old wooden boxes are used for the farm 
wagon and the wheelbarrow, the curved edges of 
the wheelbarrow being made with a jack knife. 
The box cover is used as wheel material, two 
circles being cut out of the soft wood with a jack 
knife and fastened to the body of the wagon with 
dowel sticks. Another box is mounted on a 
standard of lath and forms a very realistic pigeon 
house. The chicken coops are little wood 
squares nailed together at an angle of 90° with 
bits of lath fastened across the front. With the 
addition of a rude barn made from scraps of 
wood, a dog house — which is only a small edition 
of the barn — and a cattle shed, the farmyard 
is complete — a crude but unfailing source of 
amusement for many rainy days. 

One of the simplest toys to make of wood bas- 
ket scraps is a little play sled. For this you will 
need three oblong pieces of wood — one of them 
(Fig. i) measuring four inches wide by seven 
inches long, and the other two (Fig. 2) measur- 
ing two and a half inches wide by nine and one- 
half inches long. Some pieces of an old packing 
box about a half inch thick will do very nicely for 
these. Mark the outlines first with a pencil; then 



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[70] 



TOYS IN THE WOOD BOX 71 

cut them out with the saw, and ''true them up'' 
with a knife — that is, take off the httle rough- 
nesses that the saw has left, and make the edges 
perfectly straight and square. Next the two long 
side pieces which you have made must be shaped. 
Measure off on the lower edge (with the piece 
standing in position as though it were on the 
sled), two inches from the front end. Connect 
this by a line with the upper front corner, and 
cut it. Then round off the lower end of this cut 
so that it curves into the bottom. Now make a 
nail hole near the front end of each side piece for 
a string to go through, nail the side pieces to the 
other oblong which you made for the top, and the 
little sled is done. 

Another very simple toy to make of this ma- 
terial is a little chicken coop. This is made of 
one square piece of wood and another piece which 
is almost square. The first piece (Fig. 3) meas- 
ures seven inches each way, and the other one 
(Fig. 4) measures seven inches in one direction, 
and in the other direction seven inches less the 
thickness of the wood. This is because one piece 
laps over the end of the other, and the end of the 
first piece forms part of the other side of the 
coop. When these pieces are cut and made per- 
fectly square and true, lap the longer piece over 



^2 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

the end of the shorter so that it will he just even 
with the surface, and nail in position. For the 
slats (Fig. 5) cut some strips an inch wide and 
thinner than the sides of the coop. Lath is good 
if you have it. Two of these strips are ten inches 
long, two are seven inches, and two are four 
inches. The longest ones are nailed across the 
open sides of the coop, one on each side, an inch 
above the bottom. The middle-sized ones are 
nailed two inches above these, and the shortest 
ones two inches higher. Then the ends of these 
strips are sawed off almost even with the coop. 
A little table may be made from one block of 
wood six inches square, and four cylinders three 
and a half inches long. For the table top (Fig. 
6) select a piece of wood about an inch thick. 
Make this true, and smooth the top with sand- 
paper. Then mark on the under side a square 
which is four inches on a side, and exactly an 
inch away from each side of the table top. At 
the corner of this inside square are to be made the 
holes for the table legs. For these holes you will 
have to use a bit and brace, and make the holes 
one inch in diameter and a half inch deep. If 
you haven't a bit and brace, you can, with a little 
more trouble, whittle out the holes. For the 
table legs (Fig. 7) take four pieces of wood one 



TOYS IN THE WOOD BOX jz 

inch square and three and one-half inches long. 
By whittling- off each long corner edge you can 
make these from square prisms into octagonal, or 
eight-sided prisms. Then keep shaving off these 
corner-edges until the prisms are so many-sided 
that they are practically round. Smooth them 
with sandpaper, and glue in place in the holes in 
the under side of the table top. 

A strong little cart may be made almost as 
easily as these other wood toys. Cut from 
some pieces of wood three quarters of an inch 
thick, two side pieces (Fig. 8) measuring three 
inches by ten inches, two end pieces (Fig. 
9) three inches by five inches, and one bottom 
piece (Fig. lo) five inches by eleven and a half 
inches. In the center of one of the end pieces 
make a nail hole for the string to go through. 
Nail the sides and ends together, lapping the end 
pieces over the ends of the side pieces. Then 
nail the bottom piece on. For the shafts of the 
wheels (Fig. ii) take two pieces of wood nine 
inches long and one inch square. For a space 
of two inches in from each end make the shafts 
cylindrical just as you did the table legs, leaving 
the center portion, which is five inches long, 
square. Nail these shafts to the bottom of the 
cart at points two and a half inches from each 



74 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

end. Next cut from i inch-thick wood four 
wheels (Fig. 12), three and a half inches in diam- 
eter. These may be cut out roughly with a saw, 
and worked down to the marked line with the 
knife. Then cut in the center of each of these 
wheels a hole about one and one-sixteenth inches 
in diameter — enough larger than the shaft so that 
the wheels will turn easily. Slip the wheels in 
place, and drive into the shaft from opposite sides, 
outside of each wheel, two small finishing nails. 
These are to keep the wheels in place, and must 
be driven in carefully so as not to split the shafts. 
These are all attractive wood basket toys to 
make, and besides this, each one of them may be 
adapted, by enlarging, for some real use. The 
sled, with the addition of iron strips for run- 
ners, may be really used; or by using two sleds 
and an extra board fastened to both so that 
they will turn, it may be made into a ''bob-sled" 
or "double." The chicken coop, enlarged, will 
comfortably accommodate the mother hen and 
her brood of chicks which are the beginning of 
every boy's first poultry venture. The little table 
may grow into a flower stand, and the cart, made 
larger and stronger, will rival any shop-bought 
express wagon for durability and comfort. 



THE WONDERFUL DODO BIRD 

AVERY long, long time ago, in the far off 
country of Switzerland, which is the land 
of high mountains and goats and tourists, there 
was a wonderful bird. Nobody ever saw him 
near by, for he lived in a forest of alpenstocks, 
and he had the longest kind of legs, so that no 
matter how fast the tourists pulled up the alpen- 
stocks, or how hard they tried to catch him, he al- 
ways got away. The only way any one could see 
him was to watch the mountain tops, for when the 
weather was pleasant, he would climb up and 
stand there outlined clearly against the sky, his 
long legs making him taller than anything around 
him, and he would bob up and down — first his 
head and then his tail, and then his head again — 
and wave his plume and call, "Do-do, do-do/' 

The peasants made little dodo birds whittled 
out of wood, and sold them to the tourists, and 
because a real dodo bird was only hatched once 
in a blue moon, and there are no more blue 
moons, why, the ones the peasants made are the 

75 



76 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

only dodo birds left. And this is how they made 
them. 

The fomidation of the bird's body (Fig. i) is 
a chunky piece of wood an inch and a half square 
by three inches long. On each end of this is 
marked a circle — an inch and a half in diameter, 
which makes it just touch each edge. Then by 
cutting from circle to circle, as nearly straight as 
possible, the wood is made into a three-inch-high 
cylinder. Next one whole end is rounded off like 
the large end of an egg. The next steps in mak- 
ing the dodo bird are not quite as simple. A 
straight line is drawn all the way around the 
body, from end to end, w^hich divides it into two 
equal parts. At the end of the line which repre- 
sents the middle of the bird's back is measured 
off a space a quarter of an inch on either side. 
This makes a half-inch space which is the tip of 
his tail, and from these points lines are drawn on 
the flat end surface, to complete the four-sided 
figure shown in the end view of Fig. i, which is 
the whole end of his tail. It tapers from a half 
inch at the top to about a quarter inch at the bot- 
tom, and when it is all finished, the bottom is 
slanted in a trifle. Next the bottom part is whit- 
tled up in a curve which meets the lower end of 
the tail, and the rest of the body is whittled in 




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Diagrams of a Dodo Bird, 



y^ BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

the shape shown in the side view of Fig. i. 
This part can't be done by hnes because it is a 
gradual curve all over. When this is done two 
flat slanting surfaces are whittled off for the 
sides of the tail: 

Now you are ready to make the grooves for 
the head and tail feathers to go in. Part of the 
lower center line has been whittled off and will 
have to be replaced. Then, measuring three- 
sixteenths of an inch on each side of this line, 
make parallel lines which shall extend around the 
lower part of the body from the end of the tail to 
a point on the front end just a quarter of an inch 
below the top. A space a half inch wide is left 
in the middle of the bottom for the legs to fasten 
on, and the rest is to be made into the grooves 
as shown on the pattern. The easiest way to do 
this is to cut as far in as possible, on the parallel 
lines which you have drawn, with a small saw. 
Then chip the wood out with a small chisel, and, 
with the chisel held bevel side down, round out 
the bottoms of the grooves. If you haven't such 
a chisel though, you can manage with a knife. 

When the body is done, the rest is easier. Fig. 
2 shows the head, made from a piece of wood two 
and a half inches long by one and one-eighth wide 
and a quarter inch thick. The outline is marked 



THE WONDERFUL DODO BIRD 79 

and whittled into shape, and the beak is slanted 
down to a point. One quarter of an inch from 
the end of the neck a hole is made for pivoting, 
the eyes are marked in with a pencil, and three 
rows of marks are made across the neck with a 
little pattern marking wheel. These may also be 
made around the body and will add to the beauty 
of the dodo bird. His plume is made of a soft, 
downy chicken feather, stuck into a hole in the 
top of his head and glued in place. 

The tail feather (Fig. 3) is shaped like the 
feathered end of an arrow. The ''feathered" 
part is one inch wide by two and a half long, and 
another inch in length forms the pivoting part. 
This end is a quarter inch wide and five-six- 
teenths thick, and the ''feathers" are cut in from 
each side with a slanting cut as shown in the 
drawing. The bottom is left perfectly level, but 
the top is slanted down, with three flat cuts, to 
a sharp edge at the end. A hole is made from 
side to side, a quarter of an inch back from the 
small end, for pivoting. Two small nails driven 
through the body, with the head and tail feathers 
in position, form the pivots. They must be 
driven carefully so as not to split the wood, and 
must be placed so that the head and tail feathers 
will work up and down very freely. 



8o BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

The legs (Fig. 4) are pieces of wood three 
and a half inches long, a half inch wide, and a 
quarter of an inch thick. They are first whittled 
in an elliptical shape. Then the lower part, for a 
space of two and a quarter inches is tapered back 
from the front to give an appearance of stand- 
ing very straight. At the upper end, for a quar- 
ter of an inch from the top, half of the wood is 
cut away, and the remaining part is fitted into 
holes cut in the body, three quarters of an inch 
apart, and glued. 

The standard for the dodo (Fig. 5) is made 
like a small wooden vise. It is a flat piece of 
wood three and a half inches long by two inches 
wide and three quarters of an inch thick. One 
end is beveled slightly, and one end of the top is 
curved down slightly. 

In the remaining flat surface on the top two 
holes are whittled out into which the dodo's feet 
are to be glued. Then a space two inches long 
and one inch wide is cut out to form the jaws of 
the vise. To tighten the vise there must be some 
sort of a screw through the lower jaw. A 
wooden thumb screw is not easy to get, so the 
best plan is to get a bolt about three eighths of an 
inch in diameter. Then cut a hole almost aa 




THE DODO BIRD 



THE WONDERFUL DODO BIRD 8i 

large in your wood, and screw the bolt in, forcing 
it to cut its own ''thread" in the soft wood. 

Fig. 6 is the weight which makes the dodo 
work. It is a piece of wood two and a quarter 
inches high by an inch and seven-eighths square. 
This is made into a cylinder and rounded at one 
end precisely as you did with the body. Then 
a circle is marked around it a quarter of an inch 
back from the flat end, and this end is slightly 
rounded off. It may be decorated or not, as you 
choose. 

Now you are ready to make the dodo bird 
work. Take two pieces of string — stout, but not 
too heavy — about twelve inches long. Fasten an 
end of one of them — with a tiny wedge and some 
glue — into the end of the dodo's neck, and the 
other into the small end of the tail. Then bring 
the two pieces together and knot them about an 
inch from the other end. Fasten these two ends 
into the top of the weight just as you did the 
single ends. 

Now fasten the vise securely on a shelf some- 
where, and swing the weight to and fro like the 
pendulum of a clock. The dodo will bob first his 
head and then his tail and then his head again, 
and you can almost hear him calling ''Do-do" 



^2 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOiME THINGS 

way off on the mountain there. He's a source 
of never-ending fun, boys, and besides playing 
with him yourself, you can just watch and see 
how few grown-ups can go by him and resist 
swinging the pendulum. 



A FLEET OF TOY BOATS 

WHO remembers the mill pond down at the 
farm, clean, and high, with trees all about 
— a capital place for sailing boats? It is so small 
that, directly a toy ship is started on its voyage, 
you can run around the other side and meet her. 

There is the trout brook, too, down in the 
woods, where everything is cool and still. There 
isn't a sound as you sit on the bank save when a 
mouse comes rustling along, pushing his way 
through the leaves with his queer little pointed 
nose, or a hedgehog plods by, blind and deaf, 
never seeing you at all. 

If you should launch a toy boat in the brook, 
where do you suppose it would sail to ? You will 
follow it a little way. Sometimes it will get 
caught in the ferns, or it may lie for a minute, 
stranded, on a rock, or it will overturn as it 
shoots the rapids. You start it on again with 
the long pole you cut from the willow tree, but 
presently the boat will sail away, out of a child's 
sight, down the brook. 

Perhaps it will pick up a crew of little brownie 

83 



84 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

sailor men. Perhaps it will stop somewhere to 
load a cargo of butterfly's gowns. You will lose 
sight of it though. That is what always hap- 
pens to one's toy ships. 

A boy can make himself a whole fleet of toy 
boats to play with in the mill pond and the trout 
brook. If one of them does go sailing away to 
Fairyland — why, what does it matter with all the 
rest of the fleet just tugging away at their ropes, 
waiting to be launched? 

The little boats are the nicest of all, because 
one may have so many of them. Out in the 
woods there are some of last year's walnuts lying 
on the ground. Split one in half with a jack- 
knife, and take out all the meat, leaving the in- 
side smooth and white. Glue a scrap of paper 
to a toothpick, and fasten this little mast to the 
inside of the half walnut shell with a drop of 
glue. There is a real fairy craft, fit for a dragon 
fly to ride in. Just watch it toss and float and 
sail away on the make-believe waves. 

There are so many eggs in the barn, you can 
surely have one. Do you know how to blow an 
egg? Make a tiny hole with a pin in each end, 
then, by blowing steadily into one end, the con- 
tents of the Qgg may be emptied out of the other. 
You will be able to cut the tgg shell lengthwise, 



A FLEET OF TOY BOATS 85 

now, with your jack-knife. If you have some 
paper strips you can bind the edges of the tgg 
boat to make it a trifle stronger. Glue two paper 
seats across the top and add a pair of oars made 
of toothpicks. A tiny paper doll will enjoy a 
ride in the egg-shell boat. 

Out in the barn where you found the egg, 
there is a whole big bin full of corn cobs. Such 
light, clean playthings they are ! They will make 
a stout little raft to float about in the mill pond. 
You will need to select eight corn cobs, all of the 
same size and length. Lay them side by side on 
the barn floor. Then split up an old berry bas- 
ket, and cut two or more of the thin strips of 
wood from the side exactly as long as the raft is 
to be wide, lay these strips of wood across the 
corn cobs and nail them in place with tacks. The 
corn-cob raft is done. It is so light that it can be 
loaded with quite a cargo, two or three rubber 
dolls who do not mind the water, or a toy horse, 
or a rubber pig. Then, if the current is right, it 
will float way across the mill pond, and the toys 
can land on the other side. 

Corks make a fine raft, too, and such a light 
one! A cork raft will almost never sink. You 
must collect corks for quite a while before you 
have enough for the raft. They will need to be 



86 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

of just the same width and length. Glue five or 
six corks together by their ends to form a little 
cork log. Make a number of these logs, and 
then fasten them together as you fastened the 
corn-cob raft. Another way of making the cork 
raft is to run the corks on a bit of fine wire and 
the logs may all be wired together in the same 
way. 

A very large, flat cork, such as mother puts in 
her pickle jars, will make a fine little sail boat. 
All that it needs is a toothpick mast and a white 
cambric or paper sail glued on. 

A paper row boat is very easy to make. 
Choose an oblong of heavy paper that will not 
soak with the water quickly. Fold a cocked 
soldier's hat. Every boy knows how to do that. 
Hold the cocked hat in the middle of each side 
and pull it out into a square. Bend back the two 
open sides to form another cocked hat, but 
smaller than the first one. Pull this out, also, 
into a square. Then, if you pull hard on the two 
closed corners, the paper will open into a fine lit- 
tle row boat. You can fold so many of these 
paper boats that a new one may be launched as 
fast as the old one sinks. 

A boy who is clever with his jack-knife will be 
able to make a stout little sail boat from a piece 



A FLEET OF TOY BOATS 87 

of an old tgg crate, or the side of a cigar box. 
The wood must be close grained and light — that 
is the first essential. Cut the boat, pointed at 
one end, and rub it smooth with a piece of sand- 
paper. Glue a meat skewer to the center for the 
mast, and hoist a little sail. A hole may be bored 
in the end of the sail boat, and a long string tied 
in will allow you to run along the edge of the 
brook and keep this little craft from sailing 
away. 

There are other boats which will want to join 
this toyland fleet. Peanut shells may have very 
tiny paper sails pinned to the ends. A race be- 
tween two rival peanut boats will be great fun. 

A cigar box boat may have squares cut from 
the sides with a knife for oar locks; with meat 
skewer oars, it will make a very creditable scow, 
flat-bottomed, and perfectly safe for any doll to 
go clamming in. 

Clam shells may have paper sails fastened on 
with glue, and any kind of flat shell loves to go 
sailing away by itself on the water. 

A strong square of birch bark may be folded 
and cut rounding at the ends to resemble a canoe. 
The ends are then sewed with a needle threaded 
with strands of sweet grass or stout cotton, mak- 
ing a tiny Indian craft. If you wish the canoe 



88 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

to be perfectly water tight, it can be lined with 
waxed paper. 

There will be fun for all summer long for the 
boy who makes and sails his own fleet of toy 
boats. 




WHITTLED TOY SAIL BOAT 



HOW TO MAKE A PLAY TENT 

HAVING a tent out in the garden or on the 
lawn during the summer vacation makes 
each long, happy day twice as long, and just twice 
as happy. A boy can play that he is an Indian, 
or a first settler, or a cave dweller, or even an old 
story book king if he has even the crudest kind 
of a roof over his head and some sort of a play 
shelter beneath which he can live and play, and 
dream all manner of delightful things. 

Of course the nicest tent of all is one from a 
real tent factory made of canvas and having 
staples and pegs to fasten it to the ground, but 
such a tent costs ever so much money, and not 
every mother and father can afford to buy it. 
One family of children went without fireworks 
on Fourth of July that they might save the money 
which they would have, otherwise, burned up and 
with it they bought themselves a tent which lasted 
much longer than the smoke and noise of the fire- 
works would have. 

There is, though, a very fine tent indeed, and 
one that will give a group of boys quite as much 

89 



90 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

pleasure as any manufactured one. This is the 
home-made tent. It is the tent that seems to 
really belong to you because it is a sort of a make- 
shift and you make it with your own hands. 
There are ever so many ways of making your 
own tent, all of them simple and quite easy for 
one to follow. 

One very strong and serviceable tent has a 
foundation of straight, young birch trees or sap- 
lings cut in the early spring and used for tent 
poles. Holes should be dug, and the poles set 
in the ground a quarter their length that no sum- 
mer wind storm can uproot them. Around each 
pole, the earth is then pounded down, and the tops 
of the poles, six or eight in number, should be 
lashed together with cord. A couple of old army 
blankets may be stitched together to make a cov- 
ering for this tent. A hole is cut in the center 
and the covering is slipped over the supports and 
tied to the base of each pole. There will be 
enough extra blanket to make a flap in the front 
of the tent to act as a door. If there is a sum- 
mer shower when the children are playing in this 
blanket tent they may pull the flap tight shut, and 
just snuggle inside, listening to the raindrops 
that do not soak through the blanket covering 
one bit. 



HOW TO MAKE A PLAY TENT 91 

A second home-made tent has a foundation of 
bean poles or clothes poles for supports. These 
are sunk in the ground and fastened together at 
the top as were the saplings used for the blanket 
tent. The covering, however, is of brown denim. 
Twelve yards will make a very good-sized tent. 
The lengths are cut to fit the poles used as tent 
supports; they are pointed at the top, and 
stitched together. Tape sewed at the top, cen- 
ter, and base of each seam, on the inside, may be 
tied around the poles and fasten the covering to 
the props. This tent may be decorated in such a 
way that it will make a real patch of color on the 
lawn or in the back yard, and will have the ap- 
pearance of an Indian's wigwam. Red and 
green, or yellow denim is used for the decora- 
tions. Small conventionalized trees, moons, 
stars, leaves, or any preferred designs are cut 
from the colored cloth and stitched to the brown 
covering. Another way of decorating the denim 
tent is to paint pictures on it with stencil colors, 
using stencil patterns of Indians, animals, or 
flowers. These colors are "fast" and the rain 
will not wash them off as is apt to happen in the 
case of designs applied with colored cloth. 

A flower tent is a new sort of playhouse and is 
quite delightful in sunshiny weather. When it 



92 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

rains you can watch your tent grow from the 
house windows. It will be wise to select a fence 
corner, where a row of castor beans will sprout 
in a night almost to help form the back of the 
tent. Between these castor plants, there may be 
some quick-growing vine planted; mock orange, 
morning glory, or moon flower. As the seeds 
sprout and the vines begin to grow, they should 
be twined upon strings which extend up the 
fence and across the top between the two sides of 
the fence, forming the tent roof. Before sum- 
mer is over, this roof will be a thick one as the 
vines increase their leaves and the leaves them- 
selves grow larger and more lavish of their 
shade. After a while they will hang over the 
front of the tent helping to form a third side, 
and when the tent bursts into blossom the chil- 
dren who live inside it will feel almost as if they 
were in fairyland. 

These tents all take time to make, but there are 
other home-made tents that can spring up in a 
day in the garden. A very little boy can set up 
grandfather's big green umbrella for a tent and 
have a pleasant time sitting under it. The han- 
dle can be buried a little way in the ground and 
there will be plenty of room beneath its delightful 
green shade for a boy and a picture book, or a lit- 



HOW TO MAKE A PLAY TENT 93 

tie girl and her doll. To make this umbrella tent 
still more snug and sheltering, grandmother's 
shawl can be draped around it, or a rug may be 
pinned to the edges to form the back and walls. 
Two boys who live next door to each other and 
are the friendliest of neighbors can make a tent 
that they can share. The village carpenter will 
furnish four stout pine posts a little taller than the 
fence between the boys' homes is high. Two of 
these posts are set up on one side of the fence 
about eight feet from the fence itself, and two on 
the other side in just the same position. The 
ticking cover of an old feather bed may be cut 
down to the right size, and nailed to the posts for 
a roof. A couple of old sails may be cut into 
straight curtains for the sides of the tent, with 
strips of lath in the hem so that they can be rolled 
up in pleasant weather. The tent is very cozy 
when it is finished, and before the summer is 
over nearly every boy in town will have been up 
to visit these boys in their little two-room tent. 



HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TOPS 

SOME toys don't know how to play. They 
just stand still and wait for a child to carry 
them around the garden or drag them by their 
strings across the nursery floor. They have no 
proper play spirit, these lazy toys, but that isn't 
the case with a top. Given a fair chance, just a 
fine, long string and a smooth sidewalk — why, a 
top will play with a child all day long. It will 
twirl and whirl, never stopping to rest for long, 
and singing all the time its quaint little humming 
song to keep tune and time with its spinning. 

You can buy a top for a penny at the toy shop, 
but it is just a plain, ordinary sort of wooden top 
exactly like all the other tops. How would you 
like to make your own tops? It will be the 
easiest task in the world to do this, and a whole 
lot of fun, too. The materials for home-made 
tops grow out of doors and are lying close at hand 
at home, in the wood-shed, or in the cellar. 

Sharpen your jack-knife, and you may start 
out top hunting, at once. 

A beet makes a queer little top that will spin 
95 



96 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

gayly for a day, and if it breaks on the sidewalk 
or curbing, why you may pull up another top 
from the beet patch in the garden. The picture 
shows you a beet top that looks like a very own 
cousin to a wooden top because it is just the same 
shape, and the same size. There should be a 
pointed peg whittled from a scrap of soft kindling 
wood and stuck in the pointed end of the beet. 
The beet top is then wound with a string that has 
a small button mold or a little china button on 
the end and when you throw it as you do an ordi- 
nary wooden peg top, it will spin finely. A small 
turnip will make a top, too, if it has a whittled 
peg, and a little radish makes a fine top, save that 
it is too small to be wound up and should have a 
bit of toothpick stuck in opposite the peg to twirl 
it by. 

The woods as well as the garden are full of 
tops. Let us go out top gathering under the nut 
trees some fine, frosty morning, taking the heroic 
little jack-knife, too, to help finish the tops. Fat 
acorns make splendid tops. A bit of twig should 
be whittled down to the right size and stuck in the 
flat end of the acorn by which to spin it. Every 
acorn has a fine point upon which to spin and a 
half dozen of these gay little acorn tops may be 
set spinning at once by a group of children in a 




WHITTLED CLOWN TOP 



HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TOPS 97 

top contest to see which will keep twirhng longest. 
Horse chestnuts may be used for tops, too, if a 
child selects the very round, flat kind of nut. 
Horse chestnuts gathered when they first fall 
from the tree are soft and easily bored with an 
awl or darning needle, or the smallest blade of a 
jack-knife. A hole should be made exactly in the 
center of the nut and a perfectly straight piece 
of twig inserted, pointed at one end and extend- 
ing a half inch above the horse chestnut at the 
top to hold it by. Another way to make a horse 
chestnut top is to cut the nut in half, crosswise, 
and insert halves of toothpicks in each section, 
making two tops instead of one. 

When the shut-in days come in the winter and 
it is too late to pick your tops out in the garden 
or gather them in the woods, it will be ever so 
much fun to see how many tops you can make of 
the materials you are able to find at home. The 
wood that is used in a cigar box is soft and easily 
whittled, and just one box will furnish material 
for countless tops. The queer little circus clown 
in the picture spins on the tips of his toes if a 
top string is wound about the long peg protrud- 
ing from the top of his head. He is not one bit 
difficult to make. The outline of a clown in a 
picture book is drawn on a sheet of tracing paper 



98 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

with a soft pencil and then transferred to a piece 
of the soft wood. If a boy has a jig saw it will 
be very easy to cut the little outlined clown in a 
jiffy, but it can be done in almost as short a time 
with a sharp jack-knife. When the clown is cut, 
his features are drawn in with charcoal or a soft 
pencil. If you spin him hard enough, he will rise 
right up off the ground once in a while and then 
settle down again and go on spinning. If a 
child has a book of brownies he can make a 
brownie top in the same way that the clown top 
was made. The brownie will spin on the tips of 
his little pointed toes. 

The top in the picture that has a series of 
circles of different sizes will be ever so easy to 
make. The circles, each a half inch smaller than 
the one which is to be above it, are drawn on soft 
wood, and are then cut out with a jackknife. A 
hole is cut in the center of each circle and they 
are fitted on a piece of wooden meat skewer, the 
point of the meat skewer forming the spinning 
end of the top. With a box of water color 
paints the circular disks of the tops are then 
painted in gay contrasting colors and the effect 
will be charming when the little top begins to 
spin. 

Button molds make tops. The big wooden 







(a) beet top. (b) top made of graduated disks 
(c) button mold top 



HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TOPS 99 

molds that the tailor uses for coats are best to 
make into tops. The hole in the center must be 
enlarged to admit of a sharpened end of a meat 
skewer being inserted. These button mold tops 
may be painted, too, and a splendid game can be 
played with them on the nursery table. Two 
stakes may be set up — the stakes from a parlor 
croquet set will do nicely — at the opposite ends of 
the table. The boys playing the game then 
choose colors and spin their button mold tops, 
whipping them with tiny whips made of meat 
skewers and colored twine, and trying to see 
whose top will make the distance between stakes 
first at the one spinning. 



THE FARM THE SCISSORS BUILT 

IT will be almost as fine as a real farm when it 
is finished and ever so much easier to make, 
because one will not need any boards, or tools, or 
huge nails to use in putting it together. 

What do you suppose the barn is made of? 
Why, just a big piece of heavy wrapping paper 
that some one has brought to the house, and then 
has dropped on the hall table to be thrown away 
because it does not seem to be of any use now its 
wrapping days are over. 

First, one should cut the heavy wrapping paper 
into a large square. Then fold the square into 
sixteen small squares like the folding indicated in 
the diagram. Some of the lines in the diagram 
are dotted. Those show how the square is folded 
to make the little squares. Some of the lines are 
solid, heavy lines. Those are the lines to be cut. 
Make these cuts very carefully with scissors. 
There will be three cuts, each one square long 
and one square apart on two opposite sides of the 
paper. The two middle squares which are 
marked "a'' in the diagram should be superim- 

lOI 



I02 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

posed. That is a very, very long word, is it not? 
It means something very simple, though. These 
two squares are laid, one on top of the other, and 



1 I 



Folding for Barn. 

are glued into place. Next, the squares marked 
**b" are brought together and their edges are 
glued. Then — one end of the wrapping paper 
barn is finished. Glue the squares at the other 



THE FARM THE SCISSORS BUILT 103 

end of the barn in the same way, and cut a wide 
barn door. The door is made by cutting on a 
vertical crease on one side of the house, making 
two other cuts at right angles with the first one, 
and folding back the two sides of the door at the 
opening. If you want a window where you can 
toss hay up into the barn loft, it may be cut just 
above the door. A boy who has seen the inside 
of a real barn will be able to cut some strips of the 
heavy paper, and paste them together, fastening 
them to the back wall of the barn to show where 
the cow and the horse stalls are. 

Some more strips of paper may be pasted to- 
gether to form a barnyard fence. The barn may 
stand on the nursery table with the fence all 
around it, or an old suit box of mother's will 
make a very fine barnyard indeed. The sides of 
the box should be ruled with a pencil to look like 
the bars in a real barnyard fence. Then you can 
cut the bars with a jack-knife, or some sharp 
pointed scissors. When you have finished the 
suit-box barnyard, the barn may stand in one cor- 
ner of it. 

Now you are ready to cut some animals to live 
in the barn. 

The pictures in your animal picture books will 
make splendid patterns for the barnyard animals. 



I04 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

Trace the animals with some tissue paper and 
then transfer these patterns to some stiff paper. 
When you have cut carefully on the traced out- 
line, you may paste the animal's feet to cardboard 




Finished Barn. 

standards to make them stand up. There may be 
cows, and horses, and a donkey, and a whole flock 
of barnyard fowls. Then you may color the 
barn creatures with your water color paints or 
with colored pencils. 

You can make a fine, large farm wagon, also, 
to stand beside the barn. To make the wagon, 
you should fold a small square of paper as you 
folded the large one for the barn. Instead of 
using the whole square, though, as you did for 
the barn, you must cut off a strip of four squares. 



THE FARM THE SCISSORS BUILT 105 

Then make the short cuts as you did for the barn 
in the ends of the oblong piece of paper. Lay the 
three square laps which you have made by the 
cutting together, and paste them — one on top of 
the other. Cut out some wheels and fasten them 
to the cart. Glue on some cardboard or sticks 
for shafts, and the farm wagon is done. 

If you want a wheelbarrow in the barnyard, 
you may cut one of mother's old spool boxes in 
half. The edges where you made the cut should 
be curved. A wheel made of an empty spool, or 
a cardboard disk may be fastened to one end with 
a pin, and some cardboard legs may be glued to 
the wheelbarrow. 

When the paper farm is complete, you must 
harness the donkey to the wagon, and set him to 
work. Cut out some of the gay pictures of fruit 
and vegetables that fill the seed catalogues, and 
load the wagon. 

Fill the wheelbarrow, too. Cut out some pa- 
per overall boys to visit the farm and spend the 
summer. There is no end to the plays that the 
paper farm will suggest to you. 



MORE BOX PLAYS 

ONE of father's empty note paper boxes, a 
starch box, a box that held spools of thread 
once — one, or all of these will furnish delightful 
play material for an afternoon in the house. A 
box has not finished its usefulness when its con- 
tents are gone. It is strong and tough often 
still, and ready for all kinds of fun. 

Some cardboard boxes, large and small, will 
make the toy farm establishment shown in the 
picture. A box that once was filled with writing 
paper serves for the barn. The box stands on 
one side, leaving the entire front open that toy 
animals can be put in and taken out with greater 
ease than if there were a door. The long edge 
of the box cover is cut to fit the box, inserted and 
glued in place to form the front of the stalls which 
hold the toy animals. Shorter lengths of the 
cover edge are fitted in between the back of the 
box and this front partition to separate the stalls 
and are also glued in place. When these are in, 
a door can be cut. The stalls must be furnished 

107 



io8 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

with little grain boxes for the play horses to eat 
from; and this is the way to make them. 

Measure with a school ruler and cut out a four- 
inch square of heavy wrapping paper. Lay the 
paper on a table in front of you and fold, first, 
the front edge up to the back, and then the front 
and back edges down to meet the center fold. 
Now turn the paper around, repeating the fold- 
ing until there are sixteen squares. Cut off a 
row of four squares, leaving an oblong piece of 
paper that contains twelve squares. Make two 
cuts in the opposite narrow ends of the paper, one 
square long and one square apart. Fold up these 
squares and paste them, one on top of the other, 
forming a little oblong box. One of these boxes 
pasted to the back of each stall looks just like a 
grain trough, and may be filled with oats, if a 
country boy is making the farm, for the little 
horse to eat. 

Some of the wrapping paper that remains after 
the grain boxes are finished makes the roof of the 
barn. Cut a strip as wide as the barn is deep and 
once and a half as long. Fold it once through 
the center and, at the ends, fold down flaps by 
means of which the roof can be glued to the top 
of the box forming a hay loft. When spring 
comes you can cut grass blades with a pair of 



BOX PLAYS 109 

gardener's shears, dry them hi the sun, and fill 
the loft of this little hox barn with real, play hay. 

A box in which the apothecary packs his pow- 
ders makes the little farm cart in the picture, and 
another one the wheelbarrow. No cutting is 
necessary for the cart, but some of the cardboard 
left in the cover of the note paper box can be 
used for wheels. A fifty-cent bit is the right size 
for the wheels. Lay one on the cardboard, and 
draw carefully around it with a pencil, cutting 
four of these wheels with a pair of sharp scissors. 
Brass paper fasteners will make strong hubs for 
the little wheels. Pierce a hole through both 
wheel and box before inserting the fastener, 
though, to help the wheel to turn. . A strip of the 
box cover glued to the front of the cart serves for 
the handle. 

The wheelbarrow is just a little more difficult 
to make than these other toys, but not too great 
a task for a child with clever fingers. A section 
that is about one third of the entire length is 
measured and cut off the second small box, and 
thrown away. It is the remaining two-thirds of 
the box that is to make the wheelbarrow. The 
front, open edges of the box are now curved like 
the sides of a real wheelbarrow. Two narrow 
strips of the cover, or two small sticks are glued 



no BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

to the front of the wheelbarrow for handles, and 
two shorter lengths of cardboard or two very 
tiny sticks form the legs. Another cardboard 
circle cut the same size as those used for the cart 
wheels is inserted by means of a knife cut in the 
back of the barrow and helps it to trundle along. 

The box-built cart and wheelbarrow will be 
found most useful in the spring. They can be 
loaded with little green apples, tiny brown peb- 
bles that look like toy potatoes, corn kernels, or 
peas. They will be strong enough to last a whole 
season and help to carry fodder to the horse who 
lives in the box barn. 

There is still more box fun. Ask mother for 
an empty cardboard starch box, the strong kind 
covered with blue paper, and see what a fine little 
toy garage it will make. Almost every child has 
a toy automobile given him for Christmas, but it 
is so apt to go steering away with its own gaso- 
line, and losing itself somewhere in the house if 
a child has no special place in which to keep it. 

Take the cover of the box and turn the box 
itself bottom side up. On one side, right in the 
center, draw a big square. The lower part of 
the square should come on the very outside edge 
of the box because this square is to be the garage 
door. The door should be made in two parts, so 



BOX PLAYS III 

as to open very wide and admit the automobile 
when it comes steaming along in a great hurry. 
To make this double door, draw a perpendicular 
line that divides the square into two parts. 
Then, with a pair of sharp scissors cut right up 
this line to the top of the square. Next, cut 
along the top line to the right and left of the mid- 
dle line. Folding back the two halves that have 
just been cut, out toward the outside of the box, 
makes two little doors and opens the front of the 
garage. Square windows can be cut in the sides 
of the box, as many as one wishes. 

A number of empty thread boxes will make a 
splendid train of cars, strong enough to drag a 
whole family of china dolls or a load of live stock 
up and down the piazza or along the garden path. 
Cardboard circles cut from the covers of the 
thread boxes and of the same size as those used 
for the wheels of the toy cart make the car 
wheels. They are fastened on, either in similar 
fashion to the cart wheels by means of paper fas- 
teners, or a bone collar button may be pushed 
through cart and wheel, helping the wheels to 
revolve more easily. One of the thread boxes 
has the cover glued on, and to the top is glued 
also one large wooden spool for the engine's 
smoke stack, and a block for the engineer's cab. 



112 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

These little box cars are coupled together by 
short lengths of braided cord. Holes are 
punched in the ends of the cars with an awl and 
the cord is pushed through and knotted at each 
end to hold it in place. , A long piece of cord is 
fastened to the engine and is used to draw the 
cars by. 

There is no end to the entertainment and fun 
to be had from a pile of empty boxes. Just get 
to work at a few of them your next free after- 
noon and find out how much they are able to help 
you in your play. 






(a) the ark 
(b) cardboard animals who live in the ark 



A RECIPE FOR A NOAH'S ARK 

IT isn't a very difficult recipe to follow. All 
the stirring you need to do will be when you 
mix up some flour and a little water to make the 
paste. That is the first ingredient. Next in the 
recipe comes a pair of sharp scissors and a pencil. 
After that you must find some sheets of heavy 
paper, and the old animal picture books that you 
thought you could not enjoy any longer because 
the leaves were coming apart and the pictures 
were torn. Spread out all these things on the 
nursery table, and you will be ready to begin the 
Noah's Ark. 

The Ark itself is to be a big, strong envelope 
for holding all the wild animals, and this is how 
you must make it. One of the sheets of heavy 
paper should be folded in half. The folded edge 
forms the bottom of the envelope. Beginning 
with this folded edge, the outline of the Ark is 
drawn on the paper with your pencil. It is a 
simple outline to draw — a big boat with curved 
ends, and a sort of house resting on the top. 
Then, holding the folded edge tightly so that the 

113 



114 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

paper will not slip, cut out the Ark. The ends of 
the Ark should be bound or glued, but the top is 
left open that the animals may be put in. 

Windows and a door are cut in the Ark for the 
animals will want to look out as they sail away 
on their wonderful voyage, and the Ark may be 
painted bright red with green trimmings. 

Next come the animals. 

The pictures of the animals may be mounted on 
one of the remaining sheets of heavy paper, so 
they will be stiff enough to stand up alone. That 
is one way of making enough animals to fill the 
Ark, but there is another way that will take a lit- 
tle longer, but will prove ever so much more fun. 

The loose pictures from the book of animals 
should be fastened to the table with thumb tacks, 
or tacked to a drawing board. A square of white 
tissue paper is then laid over each, and the out- 
line of the animal's body is traced wath a soft 
pencil. When the tracing is finished, the tissue 
paper is carefully lifted off and laid with the plain 
side up on some stiff white cardboard. The out- 
line is then retraced with the same soft pencil 
leaving a pattern of the animal on the cardboard. 
The animal is then cut out, and painted with the 
nursery water colors. 

You will need to be very clever, indeed, to paint 



A RECIPE FOR A NOAH'S ARK 115 

the animals so that they will look as if they were 
just fresh from the jungle. There must be a 
tawny lion colored with brown that has a great 
deal of yellow ocher mixed with it. The pan- 
ther must be orange with big yellow spots, and 
large green eyes. The tiger's eyes must have 
yellow mixed with the green paint and his coat is 
yellow with orange stripes. The bear is brown 
and the kangaroo is tan. 

There should be two of each kind of animal. 
Now how shall you make them stand up and walk 
like real, live animals? Some very tiny bits of 
wood may be glued to their feet. That is one 
way of making the animals stand. Another way 
is to make a narrow ring of the same cardboard 
from which the animals were cut. The animals' 
feet are then glued to this ring, and they will 
really stand. 

A boy will be able to make more animals than 
he can count, — leopards, monkeys, zebras, ele- 
phants, as many as he can find patterns for in his 
toy picture books. And it will prove such fun 
to draw them and paint them that he will be kept 
busy for many rainy afternoons. 



HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN UNIFORM 

EVERY boy needs to be a soldier, once in a 
while. There are so many brave deeds to 
be done and so many cowardly things to fight, 
and So much dark to walk through courageously, 
and so many strange dogs and cats, and shy little 
girls to protect with all the gallantry of those old, 
old knights who lived in the story-book days. A 
soldier boy is never late for school, and he never, 
never forgets to do an errand. He goes to bed 
alone every evening at eight, even if the stairway 
is dark, and there is no light in the upstairs hall 
to chase away the ghosts. He never lies, and he 
is always cheerful. He knows that being brave 
and gallant and true is just as much a part of a 
soldier's duty as marching, and drumming, and 
saluting Old Glory. 

It isn't easy to be a soldier though in a plain, 
everyday suit of clothes, made of homespun per- 
haps, and patched, and dingy brown in color. A 
real soldier suit cut and fitted the right size for a 
boy costs more money than there is in the boy's 
tin bank. What is the boy going to do if he 

117 



ii8 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

wants more than anything else to be a soldier and 
he hasn't enough money to buy himself a suit? 

Any boy will be able to make the soldier trap- 
pings shown in the picture, and when he puts on 
the cap, and the shield, pins the epaulets to his 
shoulders and sticks the play sword in his belt, he 
will be ready for the life of a little soldier. He 
can work or play cheerfully, and when it comes 
Saturday, or Washington's Birthday, he will be 
the envy of all the other boys as he leads them in 
a fine parade, dressed in his gay, home-made sol- 
dier things. 

Suppose we make the soldier's cap first. The 
diagram marked Fig. i, 2, 3, and 4, shows just 
how to do the construction. A bright red cap 
will be fine for the soldier, or a blue one just the 
color of the blue field in the flag. There is a 
kind of tough, half-heavy paper called book cover 
paper. One can order it from a stationer's shop 
or a printing factory at a cent or two a sheet. 
Some sheets of this will make the boy's own cap 
and enough for all the other soldiers in the regi- 
ment. A piece of paper that measures fourteen 
by twenty inches is the foundation for the soldier 
cap. Fold the two narrower edges together until 
they touch, and crease the paper through the cen- 
ter as shown in Fig. i. Then with the paper still 



YOUR OWN UNIFORM 119 

folded, make a second fold as shown by the line in 
Fig. 2. This line forms a guide line for the next 
two folds which make the point of the cap. Lay 
the papers, open, as in Fig. i, on a table with the 
folded edge at the back; fold each half of the 
back edge down along the line made by the last 
folding. Then fold up and crease the lower open 
edges forming the rim of the cap. The rim 
should be glued down to make the cap firm and 
strong. A feather can be made by fringing 
strips of red or blue crepe paper and twisting 
them around a narrow strip of cardboard which is 
glued inside the rim of the cap. A turkey's 
feather will do just as well, or a bunch of hen's 
feathers, or a cockade made of red, white, and 
blue ribbons to decorate the cap. 

A boy can find a splendid shield pattern in the 
back of the dictionary. Copy it, and enlarge it 
until it is the right size to cover a boy's shirt 
bosom. Then draw it on heavy white cardboard, 
and cut it out. A good size for the shield will be 
eight by ten inches. When it is cut it can be 
decorated with stars and stripes with colored 
pencils or paints as shown in the picture. The 
stripes are drawn carefully with a ruler and 
filled in with color; one red and one white. 
The blue ground above the stripes is dotted with 



I20 BOYS' MAKE- AT-HOME THINGS 

stars cut from gilt paper and pasted on. Two 
holes are punched in the sides of the shield, and 
a bit of cord is strung in by means of which the 
shield may be hung around a boy's neck. It will 
make his heart beat faster and give him a whole 
lot of courage every time he looks down at its 
brave stars and stripes. 

Now for the sword which looks like a for- 
midable weapon in the picture, but is really not 
dangerous at all. Every boy knows how to roll 
a narrow piece of paper, and make a lamp 
lighter. The sword that is part of this home- 
made soldier suit is made in just the same way. 
Cut some narrow strips of the book cover paper 
and join them with glue until there is a long 
strip. Roll this strip of paper tightly, in lamp 
lighter fashion, until it is fifteen inches long. 
Then press it flat between heavy weights. Roll 
a second strip of paper for a length of six inches 
and glue it to the broad end of the sword as a 
handle. These swords are so delightfully easy to 
make that a boy will want to roll a dozen after he 
has made his first one, and he can arm himself 
with as many paper poniards as an Indian chief 
has arrows in his quiver. 

The soldier's epaulets are just five by two inch 
strips of the book cover paper cut to fit a boy's 



^^^^..^^ 



immmmmmmrn'mm 




^mmmmmm^i^ 



^. te 



m 



#:- 





(a) pattern for soldier's cap 
(b) the finished uniform : cap, shield, sword and epaulets 



YOUR OWN UNIFORM 121 

shoulders and decorated with fringed red and 
blue tissue paper. They can be pinned to the 
soldier's coat shoulders with safety pins and will 
make an ordinary play suit quite as military in 
appearance as any uniform. 

When the boy soldier is dressed in this home- 
made uniform, which will be even more effective 
than any which is for sale in a toy shop, he will 
be ready for any adventure in addition to the 
brave prowess of everyday life. Perhaps he and 
the other boys will want to take one of mother's 
old blankets and two or three clothes poles for a 
tent, and tramp as far as the woods for a day of 
real scouting. Every soldier has a knapsack for 
carrying provisions and this play soldier will 
need one, too. A large, flat box makes a fine 
knapsack. Inside can be packed a bundle of 
sandwiches, two or three apples, a doughnut or 
two, and a piece of pie or a big slice of pound 
cake. Wlien the box is packed, tie it securely 
with a length of cord, and have one end of the 
cord for a strap by means of which the knapsack 
is hung across the soldier's back. Roll a square 
of old blanket and tie to the top of the box just 
as a real soldier fastens his blanket to his knap- 
sack, and the make-believe soldier in cap, epau- 
lets, and shield can draw his sword and start off 
in search of any adventure. 



JOINTED TOY ANIMALS. HOW 
TO MAKE THEM 

THEY will really do ''stunts/' these toys in the 
picture. The grasshopper will hop if you 
stand him up on a table and give him a chance. 
The turtle will crawl along much faster than an 
ordinary, live turtle. The crocodile will follow 
you so fast that you will surely be eaten by him 
unless you hurry. What fun it is going to be to 
play with these live toys, but first a child must 
make them, and as many more as he likes. 

Clear a low table on which to work and find 
some heavy cardboard or thick water color paper 
from which to construct the animals. Bring also, 
a pair of strong scissors, a sheet of tracing paper, 
a soft lead pencil and the box of water color 
paints you found in your stocking last Christmas. 
These are all the tools and material necessary for 
making a barnful of animals. Ask mother for 
some porcelain collar buttons to fasten the 
animals' legs to the bodies. The laundry man 
brings so many of these useless studs every week 
and a crop of them will be fine for jointing the 

123 



124 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOiME THINGS 



animals. If one cannot find enough collar but- 
tons, a box of tiny brass paper fasteners will 
serve very well instead. 

Every boy knows how to draw a few animals, 
at least free hand. If he is clever enough to be 




Qrass^o/yocr's SqUu, 




Hind ^oi 




Tucrite's 3/icU 



Hc^at. 



l,e 



T 



TaiC 



able to do this just by watching the horses out in 
the street, or the tiger in the Zoo, or the kitten 
who sits in front of the nursery fire, washing her 
face, so much the better. He will not need any 
patterns. The child who finds difficulty in 
sketching an animal free hand will have to trace 
his patterns from a book, or a toy animal. Often 



JOINTED TOY ANIMALS 125 

one of the nursery toy animals may be laid flat 
on the cardboard and its outline drawn and cut. 
Noah's Ark animals, if they are large, make ex- 
cellent patterns for a child to copy. If one has 
no toys of the right size, the tracing paper may be 
laid over the picture of an animal in a farm pic- 
ture book, or a book that tells about the jungle, or 
a book on Natural History. When the outline of 
the animal has been neatly traced on the tracing 
cloth, it should be transferred to the cardboard 
from which the animal is to be made. When a 
child has obtained a clear outline in this way, he 
may next proceed to make the animals alive. _ 

First, he must decide just the location of the 
animal's joints. Where are the tiger's paws fas- 
tened to his legs? Where are the grasshopper's 
knees? Where, hidden underneath his shell are 
the turtle's funny little flat feet attached to his 
body? Then, using the pattern which has just 
been made, a new pattern of the creature's body 
is made, then a pattern of a leg, a tail, an ear, and 
these sections are all cut from the cardboard, sep- 
arately, with scissors or the sharp jack-knife. In 
cutting out legs and paws, they should be made 
always a little longer than the original pattern to 
allow for the joint by which they are fastened to 
the body. As soon as all the parts of an animal 



126 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

have been cut from the cardboard, they should 
be laid in place and holes punched with a coarse 
needle or an awl at the joints. If the animal is 
a huge one, the collar buttons may be slipped in 
these holes to hold the sections together. In the 
case of the toy creatures shown in the picture, pa- 
per fasteners were used. When these joints 
have been made the toys will stand or sit, cock 
their ears or wag their tails, leap or run — in fact 
they will do anything a boy wishes. 

The paints come next. It will be great fun to 
make the toy animals just the right color. A 
tiger may be such a gorgeous yellow with bright 
green eyes and black stripes. The grasshopper 
may be either green or a warm brown, and the 
turtle's house which he must always carry around 
on his back should be painted gray. 

These jointed animals may be persuaded to act 
out the children's favorite stories and will fur- 
nish a new kind of fun for rainy afternoons in the 
house. 

Little Brer Rabbit can be easily made of white 
cardboard from the pictures of Peter Rabbit or 
the rabbit pictures on an Easter card. Then 
Brer Rabbit and Old Man Terrapin may act out 
on the nursery table the famous race that Uncle 
Remus has told us about. A shoe box may be 



JOINTED TOY ANIMALS 127 

used for a miniature stage if it is placed on its 
side on a table, some scenery is painted in at the 
back and a little cloth curtain hung at the front. 
Through a hole in one end the jointed animals 
may be put in and they will perform most ac- 
ceptably for an audience of dolls. 

Two children playing together, or two groups 
of children can each make a set of jointed animals 
and then pose them to illustrate a favorite story, 
the other child or group guessing the story illus- 
trated. 

Many other plays will suggest themselves when 
one has a set of animals which are really alive 
and which a child has made, all himself. 



YOUR OWN CIRCUS 

IT is going to be a circus small enough to fit in 
any house. In fact, it will be possible to put 
it within the boundaries of an old table. Because 
you can't always have an outdoor show is just the 
reason that you are going to plan this fine, di- 
minutive one in the house. It may take several 
days to get it ready, but once your indoor circus 
is finished, you will find it almost if not quite as 
interesting as a real one. 

First, find an old table somewhere to be used 
as a circus ground. A pine table will serve 
nicely, and if you can find some old green muslin 
with which to cover it, you will discover that it 
looks exactly like the grass in the field where the 
real circus is held. Tack the muslin to the under 
side of the table top so that it will not wrinkle 
and interfere with the circus parade. Now you 
are ready for the rope fence which always en- 
closes a circus ground. 

In the four corners of the table bore, with a 
gimlet, through the canvas, some holes that are 
just the right size to hold dowel sticks, five inches 

129 



I30 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

long. You can buy these dowel sticks of a car- 
penter in foot lengths at a few cents each. Glue 
the posts in the holes which you have bored in 
the table and also bore extra holes for two more 
about a foot apart in the front of the table. 
These last little posts are for the gate to your cir- 
cus ground. When the glue has set and the posts 
are perfectly dry, tie cord to one, near the top, 
and then stretch it to another, knotting it, until 
you have finished the rope fence that encloses the 
circus ground. If you like you can have two or 
three rows of cord, and you can print a little cir- 
cus sign to pin to the gate. It may read: 

THE GREAT AND ONLY ANIMAL SHOW 

Clowns, Wild Beasts, and the Biggest Ele- 
phant in the World. 
Performances Every Afternoon and Evening. 
Admission, Adults, two pins. Children, alone, 
one pin. 
Come One. Come All! 

All around the edges of the bill you can draw 
pictures of wild animals with your colored pen- 
cils. 

The circus ground will look very much pleas- 
anter if you have a few trees standing about on 



YOUR OWN CIRCUS 131 

the edges, and these trees will be useful, also, to 
tie some of your wild beasts to. 

Meat skewers will do nicely for the tree trunks 
if you fringe ever so many narrow, doubled strips 
of green tissue paper, and wind them with it, fas- 
tening the fringes to the meat skewer with mu- 
cilage. The green paper flutters in the air quite 
like real foliage in the breeze on circus day, and 
the little trees will stand up nicely if you stick the 
end of each'skewer inside an empty spool, glue- 
ing it there so that it will stay in place. 

Did you think that you were never coming to 
the tent for your circus? Well, here it is, and 
the picture shows you just how to construct it. 
You will need to enlarge the diagram several 
times the size which you see in the picture, but 
that is easily accomplished by means of your 
ruler and lead pencil. Use some sort of tough, 
firm paper for the tent. Water color paper will 
be splendid because you can get out your paint 
box and paint pictures of wild men and palm trees 
and animals on the sides. If you have no water 
color paper, use brown bristol board. The latter 
makes a fine stiff tent. Cut out the top and sides 
as carefully as you can, bend them, and glue or 
paste them together. Then stand the tent up in 
the center of your circus ground. 




u 







[132] 



YOUR OWN CIRCUS 133 

The animals, next. 

There are patterns for them, too, which you 
will see in the picture and which are so simple as 
to be very easily enlarged. The animals can be 
made of the same kind of paper which you used 
for the tent, and then painted, the elephant gray, 
the camel a soft brown and the deer a dull reddish 
color, or you can cut them out of wood. This is 
perhaps the better way. Use thin pieces of very 
soft, white wood. An excellent wood is holly or 
soft pine, in the thin sheets which are used for 
jig saw work, and for making picture puzzles. 
Draw the pattern of the animal which you wish 
to make first very carefully on your piece of 
wood. Give your best jack-knife two or three 
turns on a grindstone so that it will be nice and 
sharp, and then go to work cutting the animal, 
not your fingers. Make as many animals as you 
can, and glue their feet to tiny blocks of kindling 
wood so that they will stand. Touch them up a 
little with paint, too, to make them look wilder. 

If you want cages for your animals use empty 
spool boxes, covers and all. Cut bars in the cover 
of each box with your jack-knife, stand the Ini- 
mal inside and put the cover back on. The box 
rests on cardboard wheels which are glued to the 
long, narrow side of the box. 



134 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

A clever boy will be able to invent the acts for 
the circus. One can rig up trapezes and flying 
swings and tight rope appliances very easily by 
using strings and spools. One can paint flags 
of all nations or cut them from colored tissue 
paper to float from the roof of the tent, and this 
little home-made circus will be so attractive that 
all the other boys will want to make similar ones 
just as soon as they see it. 



BEAD WORK FOR BOYS 

THERE is not a boy but has gazed at the 
alluring Indian suits in the toy shop win- 
dows, wishing that he were able to buy one. It 
is so much easier to give a proper war whoop, and 
scare a few of the fellows, and execute a wild 
war dance, or even sit by a camp fire in the woods 
telling stories, if only he is dressed like a real, live 
Indian. 

Why not make one's own Indian suit ? 

It IS perfectly possible for a boy to make him- 
self a fine Indian shirt, fringed, and decorated 
with beads; a pair of beaded moccasins and 
a bead belt in which may be thrust a scalping 
knife, a bow and arrow and a few other imple- 
ments of war. He may hang all his scalps to the 
belt, too. 

The only materials needed for the suit will be 
three or four large chamois skins — or two yards 
of brown denim if the chamois seems too expen- 
sive for the young Indian's pocketbook — some 
red and blue porcelain beads which may be bought 
in strings at any dry goods store for a few cents 

135 



136 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

a string, a spool of heavy cotton thread, and a 
httle patience. With a coarse needle, and a pair 
of scissors the boy will be ready for work. Mak- 
ing an Indian suit will fill a great many rainy 
afternoons full of fun. 

The bead belt is the best part of the suit to be- 
gin with because a boy can experiment with de- 
signs as he weaves the beads together, and he will 
be able to form an idea of the pattern he wishes 
to use when he embroiders the shirt and the moc- 
casins. One will need a bead loom on which to 
make the belt. These looms may be bought at a 
toy shop, but that is not really necessary. An 
old box will do quite as well for a loom. The 
belt in the picture was started on the cover of an 
old shoe box, and a cigar box with the cover and 
the bottom removed makes a fine bead loom. In 
making a loom from a wooden box, very small 
screw eyes may be put in the ends of the loom, 
about one quarter of an inch apart to hold the 
threads. In the card board cover shown in the 
picture, the warp threads — those are the length- 
wise threads in the weaving — are held in place 
by pins to which they were knotted at the ends of 
the loom. 

Fourteen threads are strung on the loom for a 
section of the belt, as tightly as the card board 



BEAD WORK FOR BOYS 137 

will allow of their being stretched. A needle is 
then threaded with the coarse cotton thread, and 
the end is tied to the warp thread at the top of 
the loom at the left. The needle is then brought 
out to the right below the warp strands, thirteen 
red beads — one less bead than the number of the 
warp strands, remember — are strung on the 
thread, and the beads are pressed up between the 
warp strands so that one bead comes between 
every two threads. The needle is then run back 
from right to left through the beads above the 
warp threads. This makes one row of beads se- 
curely woven to the warp. For the second row 
of beads, six red beads, one blue one and six more 
red ones are strung, the blue bead forming the 
beginning of a simple design. The third row has 
three blue beads in the center, the fourth has five, 
the fifth three, and the sixth one, completing the 
design. A row of red beads is then woven in, 
after which the unit of design was repeated. 

Many different designs will suggest themselves 
to the boy bead weaver. A checker board pat- 
tern of squares may be used, there may be a plain 
border at the edges of the belt, or a Greek fret 
may be introduced with charming effect. 

When the section of the belt shown in the pic- 
ture is finished, it may be removed from the loom. 



138 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

the ends of thread being tied securely about the 
last row of beads. A second section is strung on 
the loom, blue beads being strung first with a de- 
sign of red in the center. Four sections, two red 
and two blue, may be sewed together to complete 
the gay little Indian belt. 

Now for the Indian's shirt. The pattern 



Indian Shirt Pattern. 



which is shown in the picture should be enlarged 
according to the scale, one and one half inches 
to a foot. If chamois skin is used for the shirt, 
probably one large and two smaller skins will 



BEAD WORK FOR BOYS 139 

need to be joined to give enough material, but 
if the shirt is made of brown denim, the pat- 
tern may be laid on a length of the cloth, without 
piecing, and the shirt is then cut. It will not be 
necessary to sew any seams in the shirt. It is 
folded over at the neck opening, and tied on the 
small boy with narrow strips of leather indicated 
in the picture. One strip of leather is tied under 
the arms, and the other about the hips. The 
bead embroidery finishes the neck and sides of 
the shirt. To do this embroidery, a needle is 
threaded with coarse linen thread, and knotted at 
the end. Starting at the right of the neck, and 
close to the edge, the needle is brought through 
to the outside of the shirt. Three beads are 
then strung. They are held down close to the 
shirt and the needle is thrust through the cloth to 
the inside again. The needle is then brought 
through, close to the first stitch, three more beads 
are strung, and the embroidery is continued. 
Red and blue beads should be alternated to form 
a design. This stitch described is the simplest 
one for a boy to use and it is most efifective also, 
being the stitch used by the Indians when they 
embroidered their own shirts, moccasins, and 
leggins. 

In starting the embroidery for the sides of the 



I40 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

shirt, the bead border should be started about two 
inches from the edge, this margin being fringed 
carefully with sharp scissors after the beads are 
all sewed on. A design of beads, which may be 
varied according to the taste and skill of the boy 
who makes it, may ornament the front and the 
back of the shirt. 

Moccasins sound very difficult to make, but 
here is a pattern all in one piece, with no trouble- 




Moccasin Pattern. Finished Moccasin. 

some uppers and soles to be fitted together. 
Chamois skin should be used, if possible, for the 
moccasins, or the light weight leather which may 
be bought at a craft shop for art work and can 
easily be sewed. When the pattern of the moc- 
casin which is shown in the picture has been en- 
larged according to the scale — three inches to a 
foot — it is laid on the leather or chamois, and a 




A BEAD LOOM MADE OF A BOX COVER 



BEAD WORK FOR BOYS 141 

pair of moccasins is cut out. It will be found 
easier to embroider the toe before the moccasin is 
sewed. The sewing which holds the moccasin in 
shape is done with very coarse thread in an over 
and over stitch. Narrow strips of leather may 
be used, also, for the joining, in which case, holes 
should be punched with a stiletto and awl to admit 
of the leather being passed through the material. 
After this joining is completed, the flap indicated 
in the picture is folded over on the dotted lines, 
and it is embroidered in the same pattern used 
to finish the neck and sides of the shirt. 

If there is enough of the material that was used 
for the shirt left, two long, straight pieces may 
be cut, embroidered on the long edges, fringed, 
and tied about the Indian's legs for leggins. 

A most gorgeous headdress may be made for 
the Indian from crepe paper feathers. The 
feathers are made by fringing crepe paper and 
pasting this fringe to short lengths of flower wire. 
Gilt paint will make the feathers even more glo- 
rious, and when a number of them are finished, 
red, and blue, and green, and yellow— all the 
rainbow colors in fact— they may be wired to a 
headdress made of stifT cambric or heavy card- 
board. 

What shall we call the boy when he is dressed 



142 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

in his home-made chieftain's suit, which will be 
more effective, even, than the one he saw in the 
toy shop? Hiawatha, perhaps, as he dons his 
war paint and feathers and starts in search of all 
sorts of interesting Indian adventures. 



HOW TO MAKE STICK PICTURES 

IT is a new sort of fun that a boy can have with 
just plain, everyday, ordinary sticks. You 
can play at being an Indian, too, at the same time 
for the Indians did it first and called it picture- 
writing. 

Suppose you were an Indian child in paint and 
feathers, and moccasins. Suppose that you never 
went to school, and never had seen a piece of pa- 
per or a lead pencil. Then suppose that you 
wanted to write a letter to your little red cousin 
who lived on the other side of the forest in an- 
other tribe, far away from yours. 

Of course, you have ever so much to tell your 
little red cousin. You want him to know that the 
big chief, your father, has just put up a fine new 
wigwam of skins for you to live in, a more beauti- 
ful wigwam than any other in the village. You 
want the cousins to know, too, that the sap has be- 
gun to run in the maple tree and soon your moth- 
er, Laughing Water, will get out the big kettle 
and build a fire of pine branches and boil the fresh, 
sweep sap into maple sirup. Then there is a still 

143 



144 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOiME THINGS 

more wonderful thing to tell your little red cousin. 
In the full of the last moon, a strange water crea- 
ture was seen in the river in front of your wig- 
wam. It was white, and large, and it had huge 
white wings that the wind filled. It was a pale 
face ship — much larger, and very different from 
an Indian's canoe. 

Now, how are you going to tell all these excit- 
ing things to the far-away little red cousin when 
you have no pencil and no paper for a letter, and 
there is no postman and no railway train to carry 
a letter to the other tribe? Why, it is going to 
be the easiest thing in the world to do. Make 
some stick pictures that will tell all the stories 
that you would like to write if you only knew how. 

In the forest there is a fine old hunting ground. 
You know just the spot where all the tribes gather 
and build their great camp fires, and cook the 
game, and dance in the evening when the hunt is 
done. Before another moon your cousin's tribe 
will be there. And you are going now, to the 
hunting ground, to make some stick pictures for 
that little Indian boy to find. Then he will under- 
stand that you have been there and you were 
thinking of him. 

Jump into your canoe and paddle down the 
river. Tie the canoe fast to the bank, then jump 



HOW TO MAKE STICK PICTURES 145 

out and plunge into the forest. You know the 
way to go, for the moss grows on the north side 
of the trees. There, you have come to a cleared 
spot in the deep, deep woods. There isn't any 
sound save the chattering of the chipmunks. 
They won't disturb your picture writing. Now 
you may go to work. 

You break many of the straight, stout twigs 
from the pine tree. Some of the twigs must be 
long, and others you will break off short to fit 
together where there are corners in the pictures. 
There is a smooth bed of moss under the pine tree. 
That will be a splendid place for your picture 
writing. First, you will make a picture of the 
new wigwam. Just two long sticks, crossed at 
the top will make the outline, and you put two 
short sticks together to show the door. Now, for 
the maple tree. You will lay a long stick down 
on the moss to show the outline of the tree. 
Some shorter sticks, laid close to the sides of the 
longer stick make the branches. The pale face 
ship may be more difficult to make, but you will 
be able to outline the picture with your sticks. 
There are the sloping sides of the ship and there 
are the sails. 

The picture letter is done. When the little 
cousin finds it there in the woods he will know all 



146 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

about the new wigwam, and the maple sirup, and 
the strange ship. You travel home again if you 
are a little Indian boy, and you don't mind in the 
least not having a pencil, or a postman. 

How may a little pale face child play at picture 
writing? 

If it is vacation time, you can gather sticks in 
the woods just as the little Indian boy did. Be 
sure that they are long, straight ones, though. 
You may sit in the grass and lay your stick pic- 
tures on the lawn, or you may make them on the 
floor of the piazza. 

If you want to make stick pictures in the house 
on a stormy day, ask mother to let you use her 
sewing table to put them on, or you can lay them 
on the kitchen floor, or the nursery hearth rug. 
For the indoor stick pictures, you can use burnt 
matches, or toothpicks, or clothes pins — anything 
long and straight will do. You can buy colored 
sticks at a kindergarten shop, and those will be 
the best of all for stick pictures. And if you have 
a game of jackstraws, the straws may be used 
for the pictures. 

The Indians had no picture books, but you have. 
You can play a game with the stick pictures. 
You can make pictures to illustrate one of your 
favorite stories, and then ask the boy or girl who 



HOW TO MAKE STICK PICTURES 147 

is playing with you to try and guess what the 
story is that fits the picture. 

A splendid story to illustrate with stick pic- 
tures is The Three Bears. 

Here is their house. 

Here is the table that held the three bowls of 
porridge. 

Here are their three chairs. 

And here are their three beds. 



A TOY INDIAN VILLAGE 

JUST fancy an encampment of real, live In- 
dians in the house in a little Indian village 
that you made all yourself! It will be the best 
sort of fun to make the camp, and when it is done 
it will be a fine, new plaything for all winter long, 
as the toy Indians have sham fights, and May 
dances and tell each other stories around their 
tiny camp fires. And this is the way to make the 
fascinating toy. 

A long, shallow tin with very narrow sides is 
the foundation for the Indian village. The tin- 
smith has large sheets of bright new tin, and he 
will make you one of these shallow tin trays for 
just a few cents. The florist will give you a bas- 
ket of soft, black earth — enough to fill the tray — 
and you can mold and pat it into tiny hills and 
queer little valleys, and long foot paths, no wider 
than your little finger for the toy Indians to trail 
up and down. 

You must take a long walk now as far as the 
woods to find some sprays of white pine, hemlock, 
and spruce for the Indians' trees. Gather some 

149 



ISO BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

little straight twigs, too, for wigwam founda- 
tions, and if the ground is still bare, pick up some 
of the prettiest pebbles you can find for make-be- 
lieve rocks in the Indian encampment. With 
your jack-knife strip from the birch tree just a 
very little bark to make an Indian canoe — not 
much, for it takes a birch a long, long time to 
grow more bark. Then you may go home again, 
but on the way, buy a penny's worth of grass seed 
at the florist's. What are you to do with all these 
things ? 

Just listen, and you will find out. 

Scatter the grass seed very softly over the 
earth in your tray and sprinkle it with the rubber 
bulb sprayer that mother uses for her house ferns. 
You would not believe it perhaps, but in a week or 
ten days your little Indian camp ground will be 
covered with a carpet of soft, green grass really 
growing in the earth. After you have planted 
the grass seed, stick the little evergreen trees in 
the earth and lay your pebbles about as if they 
really belonged there on the ground. In one 
corner of the tray, if mother is willing, you may 
sink a shallow, round cake tin filled with water to 
make a miniature lake, and about the lake you 
can put a border of stones covered with the moss 
that comes in a box of Noah's Ark animals. The 



A TOY INDIAN VILLAGE 151 




Pattern for Toy Wigwam, 



152 BOYS' MAKE- AT-HOME THINGS 

tray of earth is quite transformed now into a tiny 
forest. 

Under the trees the Indian wigwams are scat- 
tered. Making these tepees is ever so much fun 
and will fill a long winter evening after your les- 
sons are learned and you have the library table 
free to work on. Fig. i shows you how to cut 
out an Indian wigwam, and heavy dark brown 
paper or brown canvas is a strong material to use. 
When the wigwam is cut, it may be decorated 
with paints in any design you wish. A border of 
small squares is an attractive decoration, or some 
grotesque heads and bows and arrows may be 
painted on. Gold or red paper stars and cres- 
cents and suns may be cut and glued to the outside 
of the wigwam, forming a very gay scheme of 
trimming it, or very tiny autumn leaves may be 
waxed and glued on. When a number of these 
little wigwams have been cut, decorated, and 
glued together, as shown in Fig. 2, place them in 
your play forest, using two or three twigs crossed 
for supports, the ends extending through the 
hole in the top of the wigwam. 

Now you can make the Indians. English wal- 
nuts form the heads. These are just the right 
size, brown enough for the complexion of any In- 
dian, and nicely wrinkled, too. With a sharp 



A TOY INDIAN VILLAGE 153 

jack-knife smooth down a few of the wahiut's 
wrinkles, and carve the Indian's features, trying 
to give him high cheek bones. Color his cheeks 
with vermilion and paint his face, too, in as many 
different colors as you like. A roll of stiff paper 
or cloth glued to the nut head makes the Indian's 
body, about which is wrapped a blanket of fringed 
crepe paper, red flannel, or any sort of gay stuff 
that mother will give you. This walnut Indian 
wears a marvelous feather headdress. The 
feathers come from the chicken yard or the oldest 
feather duster — whichever source is available — 
and they are glued to a strip of brown paper 
which, in turn is glued to the little Indian's head. 

There should be a whole tribe of Indians, as 
many as you can make before bedtime, and when 
it comes morning run up to the play room and 
stand the Indian braves at the doors of their wig- 
wams or in the little path between the trees where 
they can see their real green grass coming up, and 
enjoy the friendly shelter of their fine little camp- 
ing ground. 

These nut Indians will need bows and arrows 
when they have sham battles. Tiny twigs may 
be bent bow shape with rubber bands for bow 
strings and burned out matches may be sharpened 
to a point for arrows. Toothpicks make arrows, 



154 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

too. A bow and a bundle of arrows may be laid 
at the door of each little Indian's wigwam. The 
canoe that floats on the tin pan lake is made of 
a strip of folded birch bark shaped at the ends 
like a real canoe and stitched with brown linen 
thread. It will really float if it is carefully made. 

For a camp fire, pile up some broken twigs in a 
cleared spot in your Indian encampment and put 
in some scraps of twisted, red tissue paper which 
will look like flames. One of the kettles from the 
dolls' kitchen may hang on a forked stick over 
this make-believe fire to cook the dinner for the 
walnut Indian tribe. 

This play Indian village will last all winter, a 
comfortable camping ground for the tribe, and a 
delightful plaything for the clever boy who 
made it. 

There may be some walnut squaws added per- 
haps, and some peanut papooses wrapped in 
blankets cut from a scrap of old chamois and hung 
contentedly by thread to the sheltering trees. 
The grass will grow so high that it may have to 
be mowed with the nursery scissors, and when 
the trees fade, more can be gathered and put in 
the places of the old ones. 



CORN TOYS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM 

CORN cobs really look as if they would like 
to play. There is a whole binfiil out in 
the barn, and the chickens do not want them and 
neither does the farmer. He will make a big bon- 
fire out in the wood lot some day and burn up all 
the corn cobs if the children do not take posses- 
sion of them first, and help them to play by mak- 
ing them into toys. 

What fine, long, straight little logs they are for 
a log cabin, or they might be made into Indian 
or toy rafts, or a rail fence, or almost anything 
else a child chooses. 

First you can make a little rail fence that 
stretches across one corner of the barn floor. To 
do this, lay down six corn cobs in zigzag fashion 
on the floor with the ends not quite as far apart 
as the cobs are long. Then across every two cob 
ends lay another cob and finish the fence in this 
way, making it very snug. 

Behind the fence lives Apple Johnny. He 
owns the farm whose boundary lines the fence 
marks out on the floor. Apple Johnny has a little 

155 



156 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

hard apple for his head joined by a toothpick to 
a fat apple that forms his body. His legs and 
arms are twigs and his face is cut with a jack- 
knife in the smaller apple. Apple Johnny has a 
herd of wild potato horses on his farm. Each po- 
tato has four twig legs, and a flowing mane, made 
of a fringed corn husk pinned to the long end of 
the potato, and a straw tail pinned to the other 
end. 

As you put the last corn cob in the fence, you 
heard the rain just pouring and pouring on the 
barn eaves. Suppose the roof of the barn should 
cave in and the whole inside be flooded I What 
would poor little Apple Johnny do, and how would 
he ever make his escape? Apple Johnny must 
have a raft. Select six more corn cobs from the 
binful, all of them just the same length, and lay 
them down on the barn floor, side by side. In one 
of the corners of the barn is an old last summer's 
berry basket. Strip off two bits of the binding 
rim as long as the row of cobs is wide. Xail one 
to each end of the row of corn cobs, putting a 
nail in each cob, which holds the small raft firmly 
in place. Then turn the raft right side up and 
to one end nail a long, straight twig for a mast, 
to which you can glue a white paper sail. It is 
a fine little raft when it is completed, and strong 



CORN TOYS 157 

enough to carry Apple Johnny and a potato horse 
or two safely through any possible flood. 

But Apple Johnny has no house. Well, a 
house is easily planned when one has a whole bin 
of corn cobs to draw upon for building materials. 

Gather an armful of cobs and make a corn-cob 
house. Lay two corn cobs opposite each other, 
and two more across the ends, log cabin fashion, 
driving nails through to hold them together. 
Next, put two more corn cobs over the first 
tw^o and two more over the second, until the house 
is twice as high as Apple Johnny is tall. For a 
roof, nail two sides of the berry basket to the log 
cabin, and then with a rip saw cut out a front door 
high enough to let Apple Johnny step through. 
There will be rather wide chinks in the house, but 
you can play that these are windows through 
which Apple Johnny can watch for the corn-cob 
Indians and shoot at them with a twig musket 
when he sees them coming. 

You can make a whole tribe of these corn-cob 
Indians, and it will be the most fun of all, even 
jollier than making a corn-cob fence, and a raft, 
and a house. First, wind corn husks around a 
cob to make the Indian's clothes, but leave one 
end, th€ larger end of the cob, uncovered because 
that is going to be the Indian's head. Then on 



158 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

this end, mark a face with a bit of charcoal ; eyes, 
nose, and mouth ; and paint the cheeks red with a 
crushed cranberry, rubbing the juice on the corn 
cob. The hens' nests in the barn are full of ever 
so many pretty feathers, so you can collect as 
many of these as you wish and glue them to the 
corn-cob Indian's head for his headdress. Last 
of all, ask mother if she is willing to give you a 
few pieces of the left over plain cloth from sister's 
school dress for the corn-cob Indian's blanket. 
Of course mother is willing. Almost every moth- 
er is willing to give a boy things when he is try- 
ing to amuse himself all alone. She may even cut 
a square of gay plaid from the piece of cloth itself 
and turn out all the pieces from her sewing bag, 
where there are other scraps just right for In- 
dians' blankets; red flannel, and gray serge like 
your last winter suit, and brown merino, and yel- 
low silk. 

The Indian looks very splendid indeed in his 
feather headdress and a red plaid blanket. All 
he needs then is a bow and quiver of arrows. 
The bow you can make by bending a length of 
willow and tying a piece of cord across. The 
arrows are shorter, pointed twigs with a very 
small hen's feather tied to the end of each. 

This Indian you can name Chief Big Cob. 



HOW TO MAKE A MARBLE BAG 

NOBODY knows why the first of March 
brings marbles, but it certainly does. Some 
games really belong to the season in which they 
come as coasting and snowfights, but other games 
are played at certain times of the year for no rea- 
son except that they always have been and always 
will be. If some one should ask a boy — any boy, 
why it wouldn't be better to play football in the 
summer and baseball at Thanksgiving time, he 
couldn't tell you, but his sense of the fitness of 
things would be outraged. 

And so, when the snow goes away, and the frost 
comes out of , the ground, and the sap begins to 
run in the trees, and a boy's toes wiggle and wig- 
gle and long to kick out of his shoes and dig 
themselves into the soft mud, it is quite the proper 
thing for him to hunt up all his last year's marbles, 
and ask his sister — or somebody else's sister — to 
make him a bag to hold them, so that he will be 
ready for the season's marble campaign. 

The simplest marble bag to make is one which 
is made in just the same way as a tobacco pouch. 

159 



i6o BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

Take an oblong piece of heavy tan canvas, meas- 
uring twelve inches long by five inches wide. 
Tan does not show the dirt readily, and the 
heavier the material is the better, for the bag is 
not going to be gently handled. Double this piece 
of canvas in the center, so that it forms a bag six 
inches deep by five wide. Sew up the two side 
seams with a coarse needle and very heavy linen 
thread, and make the seams very strong. The 
sewing should be about a quarter of an inch back 
from the edges. Then ''scrape" the seams open, 
which simply means to run your thumb nail along 
the seams right where the joining is, so that one 
raw edge shall be folded toward each side. Next 
make a hem at the top by folding the material 
over once, and then again. This hem should be 
about a quarter of an inch wide, and in sewing 
it down leave a space unsewed on one side where 
it crosses the seam, so that the draw string can 
be run in. Turn your bag so that it will be 
right side out, and the seaming all on the in- 
side. A piece of heavy, wrapping-paper twine 
twelve inches long will make a fine draw string, 
by running it through the hem with a bodkin and 
tying the two ends together. 

Another marble bag that will prove very satis- 
factory, and will be so unusual that the boy who 




F7a / 



Pattern of a Marble Bag. 
[i6i] 



1 62 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

owns it can gloat over the other fellows, is made 
of very heavy chamois, or buckskin. A paper 
pattern is made first, like Fig. i. It measures 
two and a half inches across the top, four and a 
half inches from side to side at a point three and 
three-quarters inches below the top, and its height 
is six and a half inches. After these points have 
been determined a boy can mark in the vase 
shaped outline freehand. When the pattern is 
made and cut out, lay it on the buckskin, holding 
it carefully, so that it will not slip, and cut four 
pieces just alike. Then take a large darning 
needle or a *'rug" needle and thread it with a 
strand of raffia. If red, or blue, or green raffia 
are used instead of the ordinary natural color, it 
will make the sewing very decorative. Take two 
of the pieces of buckskin, and, beginning at the 
bottom, sew them together with the stitch that 
is used for making baseballs. This is done by 
taking a stitch up from underneath, then cross- 
ing over, and taking a stitch up from the un- 
der side of the other piece, then back to the 
first piece and so on, drawing the raffia snug 
each time. Instead of making a knot at the be- 
ginning, leave the raffia hanging loose for about 
an inch or more, and when the top of the seam 



HOW TO MAKE A MARBLE BAG 163 

is reached, fasten the raffia tight before cut- 
ting off. Next join the third piece to the sec- 
ond in the same way, the fourth to the third, 
and then the fourth to the first, so that all four 
together form a bag. Take the four ends of raf- 
fia at the bottom and knot them snugly together, 
two by two. They may be trimmed off short, or 
left hanging loose to form a tassel for decoration. 
Now take a narrow piece of soft wood and slip 
it inside the mouth of the bag, so that you can cut 
slits for the draw string. They are cut with a 
sharp penknife and should come just at the nar- 
rowest part, or neck of the bag. If the upper 
ends of the cuts are three-quarters of an inch 
from the top of the bag, and the cuts themselves a 
half inch long, they will be about right. There 
are four cuts in each section making sixteen cuts 
in all. Next take three pieces of raffia twenty- 
four inches long. Knot the three together at one 
end, and then braid them tightly into a cord. 
When the other end is reached knot it as you did 
the first. String this cord through the slits in 
the neck of the bag just as though you were weav- 
ing — under one, over one, under one, over one — 
and then when it is all strung, tie the two ends 
together in a square knot. 



i64 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

It makes an exceedingly unique bag, and will 
hold all the marbles a boy can win, and besides 
winning marbles he will win the envy of every 
other boy who sees his fine, new marble bag. 



HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SCHOOL 

BOX 

EVERY boy needs a pencil box. Plain little 
oblong boxes most of them, with a flat hinged 
cover, and a little lock that you keep carefully 
fastened with the key. That is, a boy locks his 
pencil box when he is able to find the key, but 
whether it was in his pocket, or fastened to his 
watch chain, the school-box key always does man- 
age to get away, somewhere — to make its escape. 
One day, however, the boy sees displayed in the 
window of a stationery shop, a new sort of pencil 
box, a most fascinating kind. The cover of the 
box is made of narrow strips of wood fastened 
side by side like the strips in the top of a roll-top 
desk, and when the shopman opens the pencil box 
to show the boy the inside, the cover just slides 
right back out of sight, while the boy looks on in 
open-eyed astonishment. The shopman's supply 
of these magic boxes is limited, though, and there 
is a wild scramble for their possession among the 
boys who can produce ten cents — for that is the 
exorbitant price charged by the shopman. The 

165 



1 66 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

boy wants one of those magic boxes. His fingers 
just tingle and burn to hold one and try to make 
the cover slide in its charming way, but he has 
only five cents, he can't buy one. 

The boy will be able to make his own pencil box, 
though, and this is the way he must go about it 
in order to construct one of those fascinating, 
roll-top ones, just like the one in the shop window. 

In the first place, a boy must know how to whit- 
tle. All that he needs in the way of material is a 
jack-knife, some pieces of wood three-sixteenths 
of an inch thick, some more pieces an eighth thick, 
a strip of white cloth, and some little three-eighth 
inch nails. 

The first piece to make (Fig. i) is the side of 
the box. It is just a plain oblong of the three-six- 
teenth inch wood, measuring nine inches long by 
two and a quarter inches wide. All the pieces are 
made three-sixteenths thick except the strips for 
the cover. Two of these sides are necessary of 
course. 

Next come two strips nine inches long and a 
quarter of an inch wide which are fastened, 
notched side up on the inside of each side, ''flush" 
— even — that is, with the top, with four little 
nails driven from the outside. The piece which 
is cut from the end of each of these, as shown in 






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YOUR OWN SCHOOL BOX 169 

the drawing, is to make a joint which is later to 
be fitted with Fig. 10. 

Fig. 3 is eight and nine-sixteenths inches long 
and one and seven-sixteenths wide and one end 
is rounded into a half circle. Figs. 3 and 4 are 
nailed in position on the inside of the side pieces, 
and together they form the track around which 
the cover runs. Two of each are required. 
Fig. 5 is the bottom piece, and is simply an ob- 
long nine inches long by two and a half wide. 
It is placed in position with the side pieces up- 
right on either side of it and nailed from the out- 
side. 

It is best to make the cover next, so that you 
can test it and see that it works smoothly before 
any more of the box is put together. It is made 
of little strips (Fig. 6) three-eighths of an inch 
wide and two and a half inches long, "sliding fit," 
which means that they are to be a little less 
than two and a half, so that they will slide in a 
space two and a half inches wide. A sharp rub 
on the ends with sandpaper will make this slight 
difference. There are twenty-two of these strips, 
and they are glued side by side on a strip of white 
muslin cloth. If you use a piece with a selvage 
on one side, you will be more sure of making the 
cover perfectly straight. 



I70 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

Fig. 7 is the handle and is to be nailed flat to 
the second strip — the one next to the end strip. 

Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 are a false bottom and false 
end, which form the receptacle for the pencils, and 
hide the mechanism of the cover. They are 
nailed in position as shown in Fig. 12. The nails 
to fasten these in place must be a little longer than 
the others, because they have to be nailed from the 
outside and must go through two thicknesses of 
wood and project into a third. 

The next piece to make is Fig. 10 — an oblong 
measuring one and a half inches by two and a half, 
and cut to make a joint with Fig. 2. This is 
placed across the top and nailed down, covering 
the rounding end of the "track.'' 

Now the cover may be slipped into position and 
the end pieces (Fig. 11), oblongs two and a quar- 
ter inches by two and seven-eighths, nailed on, 
and the box is done. 

It is a convenient size, the receptacle for pencils 
is ample, and to one who does not know, the dis- 
appearance of that cover when it opens is a mys- 
tery that borders on black art. 



A HOME-MADE CHRISTMAS TREE 
STAND 

NOBODY will deny that a Christmas tree has 
plenty of backbone, but somehow it doesn't 
seem to have intelligence enough to use it. Or 
else it resents the taking away of its roots and the 
substitution of a shop-made standard that it con- 
siders inadequate. As a matter of fact the stand- 
ards that you can buy in the shops are inadequate 
for a tree of any size. And so, if the boy of the 
family is handy with tools, it is up to him to make 
one. 

A very good standard for a Christmas tree — 
strong, durable, and ornamental as well — may be 
made from a strip of one-by-two-inch ^'dressed" 
lumber 12 ft. long (which costs about a cent and 
a half a foot), and some pieces of an old dry 
goods box. 

First, saw off from your one-by-two-inch strip 
four pieces twelve inches long and four pieces 
eleven inches. These are to make Figs, i, 2, and 
4. Make four pieces like Fig. i and two pieces 

171 



172 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

like Fig. 2 ; the notch at the end is cut with a saw 
across the grain, and then spht out with a chisel. 

When these are done, join two of the twelve- 
inch pieces and two of the eleven inch to form a 
square frame. The joint is shown in Fig. 3, and 
it should be glued or nailed, or both, which is 
safer. 

Next make the other two eleven-inch pieces like 
Fig. 4. These are just like Fig. 2 except that a 
groove four inches wide and one inch deep is cut 
in the middle of each. Then they are joined with 
the other twelve-inch pieces to form a frame simi- 
lar to the first. The first frame is to go at the 
bottom of the standard, and the second frame, 
placed with the grooves tip, is for the top. 

Now cut from the remainder of the strip two 
more pieces twelve inches long. With a compass 
set at an inch-and-a-half radius, and the center in 
the exact middle of one edge, draw a half circle 
on each, and chip it out with a chisel like Fig. 5. 
The use of these will be described later. 

The remainder of the strip will make four pieces 
eighteen inches long, with a bit left over. These 
are to stand on their two-inch faces, and the upper 
edges of each end should be rounded off with a 
''block'' plane. Then two grooves are cut in each 
piece, two of the pieces having the grooves on the 



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1- 



A CHRISTMAS TREE STAND 175 

upper side and two on the under side, like Figs. 
6 and 7. 

Now cut from your packing box sixteen strips 



AAA 




Christmas Tree Stand. 

or pickets one and three-quarters inches wide and 
fourteen inches long, like Fig. 8. These may be 
"ripped out" with a saw and smoothed up with a 
plane and sandpaper. 



176 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

To "assemble" the standard join first the two 
Fig. 6 strips and two Fig. 7. This leaves a hole 
two inches square in the center and two strips 
projecting from each of the four sides. Place the 
first square frame that you made on this, so that 
its sides will be equally distant from the center, 
and nail in position. Next nail the pickets in po- 
sition so that the lower end of the pickets will be 
"flush" with the lower side of the frame. Next, 
hold the upper frame, with the grooves up, 
in position, eight inches above the lower frame 
and nail the pickets to that. Fig. 9 shows the 
complete assembly. 

Now give the frame, and the two pieces like 
Fig. 5 a coat of dark green paint, and the standard 
is ready for use. Slip the tree into the square 
hole in the base. If the trunk is a bit too large, 
whittle it to fit. Then place the two pieces like 
Fig. 5 around the trunk at the top of the frame 
for a clamp, and slip them into the grooves in the 
upper frame, and you will find your tree quite 
ready to stand up and behave. 



HOW TO WRAP CHRISTMAS PARCELS 

HOW many boys and big folks, too, have at 
some time received a Christmas gift which 
WRS broken, or crushed, or spoiled in some w^ay 
through the careless packing of the sender. Even 
at ordinary times the mail service and Express 
Companies are hard enough upon packages given 
to their care. The term "baggage-smasher" 
ought not to be restricted to the employees of the 
railways alone, and when at Christmas time the 
mails and express lines are congested with pack- 
ages of all descriptions, and the men are tired and 
overworked trying to deliver gifts that have been 
sent at the last minute — then it is doubly needful 
to insure the safety of your Christmas presents by 
careful packing. 

Of course the wrapping of a gift cannot change 
its value, but you should bear in mind that your 
gift will seem doubly attractive to the one who re- 
ceives it, if inside of the serviceable outside wrap- 
ping, there is another dainty one, and the expense 
is so trifling that it need hardly be considered. A 
dozen sheets of tissue paper cost only a dime. 

177 



178 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

Pure white or warm ''Christmassy" red are the 
most desirable kinds. Another dime will pur- 
chase a box of Christmas seals — small ones with 
pictures of holly and mistletoe, or large ones with 
Santa Claus heads or Christmas bells on them. 
If you prefer tying, to sealing, the ten cents will 
buy a dozen yards of ''tying" ribbon, which is 
crimson "baby" ribbon in a cheaper grade than 
is ordinarily sold. Gilt cord is also very attrac- 
tive for tying up gifts, and a tiny spray of holly 
tucked under the cord or ribbon gives a final 
dainty Christmas touch. 

Perhaps, though, you live so far away from a 
town that you are not able to buy these Christmas 
seals, and the tying ribbon. Almost, if not quite 
as pretty to fasten the inside tissue paper wrap- 
ping of a gift will be some very tiny, red maple 
leaves gathered in the fall with the thought of 
Christmas in mind, and pressed with a hot flat 
iron on which some beeswax has been rubbed. 
This preserves the bright color of the leaves and 
keeps them stiff until you need to use them. 
After carefully folding in the ends of the tissue 
paper about the gift, the paper is fastened down 
by gluing on a few of these gay, pressed leaves, 
and in the folds of the paper a wee spray of pine 
or a little wreath made of ground pine, or a bunch 



TO WRAP CHRISTMAS PARCELS 179 

of partridge berries may be tucked. Another 
way of making a gift look like the country is to 
tie it with strands of sweet grass. 

When the gifts are wrapped, and you are ready 
to pack them for shipment, there are a few gen- 
eral rules that must be remembered. 

First: That the gifts must be packed as 
snugly as it is possible to do without harming 
them. 

Second: That nothing— not even excelsior- 
is quite as effective in stopping the transmission 
of bumps and jars as crumpled up newspapers. 

Third : That the name and address of the per- 
son to whom the gift is sent and also the address 
of the sender must be legibly written in your best 
school hand on the outer covering where they are 
not liable to be torn off. You must remember 
that, while the names and addresses are perfectly 
familiar to you, they are totally unknown to the 
men through whose hands the parcels go, and in 
handling thousands of packages, illegible writing 
means much delay. 

The rule of packing things tightly refers to 
everything— t\^n things which would seem most 
crushable, for there is far more harm done by 
packing these loosely so that they slip around with 
every turn of the package, than by crushing them 



i8o BOYS' MAKE- AT-HOME THINGS 

flat in one position. Take a delicate waist, for 
instance. If packed loosely, it will come out of 
its box rumpled and wrinkled in every direction, 
but if it is folded flat, the sleeves stufTed with 
crumpled tissue paper, and the spaces around it in 
the box filled with the same, it will reach its des- 
tination quite as fresh as when it started. 

It is better to box all gifts if possible. Very 
pretty Christmas boxes of all sizes and shapes ma}' 
be bought in the shops, or, in place of these, you 
can use empty candy boxes which most people 
stow away for just such purposes. 

Do not select a box that is too small and leaves 
too little space for filling in with crushed paper^ 
and try and think, too, of the weight of the gift 
in selecting your box. 

If you are packing odd pieces of china, wrap 
each piece separately, and see that they are well 
segregated with the crushed paper. If you are 
packing a number of pieces of uniform size and 
shape — such as saucers, plates, etc.— place them 
in a pile with every second one well wrapped. 
Then wrap the whole pile and pack edgewise, 

China should be packed in a wooden box, with 
an addressed baggage tag nailed on, or the ad- 
dress put on the wood itself with India ink. 

Flat things, calendars, cards, photographs, and 



TO WRAP CHRISTMAS PARCELS i8i 

handkerchiefs, gloves, neckties, ribbons, etc. if 
unboxed, must be protected by pasteboard. For 
this, the corrugated pasteboard that is used by 
department stores is much more effective than 
the ordinary flat sort. It is much less easily bent, 
and is lighter in weight, which is of course a great 
advantage, because it makes the cost of mailing 
less. 

This corrugated pasteboard is also very good 
for wrapping things which are light in weight, 
but bulky and of awkward shape, for it may be 
rolled to accommodate almost any object. 

Doilies, centerpieces, and other flat embroid- 
eries must necessarily be kept uncreased in ship- 
ping, but are too large to be sent flat. Lay them 
first on a sheet of heavy wrapping paper, cut 
square and slightly larger than the embroidered 
piece. Then lay over the embroidery a sheet of 
tissue paper, and carefully roll the whole thing. 
Then form a tubular covering of the corrugated 
pasteboard, and wrap with hardware paper out- 
side. In tying up a tube, the cord should go twice 
around the tube — once near each end — and the 
cord which goes lengthwise should go through 
the opening of the tube so that the contents will 
not slip out. 

In tying packages for mailing, use good strong 



i82 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

cord, and remember that a package must bear no 
kind of a seal and contain no kind of writing 
beyond a simple Christmas greeting if it is to go 
as "merchandise/^ Even one of the little paper 
seals stuck over the string will render the pack- 
age "first class" and subject to letter postage. 

Just one more thing to be remembered at 
Christmas time. Courtesy is only another name 
for kindness, and it would be discourteous to send 
a gift which was not fully prepaid; or to send a 
gift "across the line,'' which is dutiable to any 
great extent. And in courtesy to the men and 
women who have to handle your gifts on their 
journeys, send your Christmas presents long 
enough ahead of time so that these men and 
women may not be too tired when Christmas 
comes to feel themselves its blessed peace and 
cheer. 



YOUR OWN WIRELESS RECEIVING 
STATION 

MOST boys are interested in wireless teleg- 
raphy, and it is possible for any one of 
them to make a simple apparatus by which they 
can "cut in" and receive any wireless message 
that happens to be passing through their particu- 
lar zone. 

The receiving set will require a number of dif- 
ferent parts, but they are easily made — when one 
knows how. 

For actual hearing you will need a telephone 
receiver of some sort. One may be bought for 
about seventy-five cents at an electrical supply 
house, or an old one, provided it is in good con- 
dition, may be used. 

Next comes a "detector.'' This consists of a 
wooden base about six inches long by four wide 
and an inch thick, on which is mounted a piece of 
silicon about the size of an egg. An insulated 
wire passed once around the silicon and then 
through two holes in the base will hold the silicon 
in position in the center of the block. Put a brass 
screw an inch long at each end of the block and 

183 



i84 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

"connect up" the silicon in the following way: 
First take a piece of No. 22 single-covered copper 
wire, scrape off a few inches of the covering, and 
wind this bare copper wire several times around a 
small round stick to form a spring. The bare end 
of the spring must be filed to a point and rest 
against one end of the silicon, wdiile the other end 



\ i 



fYooe^er) 3ss< 



Detector. 

of the wire is wound around one of the brass 
screws. Next, take a piece of ordinary insulated 
telephone wire, bare one end far enough to wind 
firmly around the free end of the piece of silicon. 
and then wind the other end of this wire around 
the second brass screw. This makes a metallic 
circuit through the silicon which will "make" or 
"break" with the touching or removing of the 
spring. 

Next you need a "tuning coil." This has a 
wooden base twelve inches by six and an inch 
thick. To make the coil itself a stick twelve 
inches long and one and a half inches in diam- 
eter — a piece of an old curtain pole will do 



WIRELESS RECEIVING STATION 185 

— and wind carefully on it a half pound of the 
No. 22 single-covered copper wire. The end 
of this wire is fastened to the stick with a 
small tack, and it should be wound very evenly 
and closely. The last end is left free for a con- 
nection. After it is wound give the wire three 
coats of shellac, making sure that each coat 
is dry before another one is put on. When it is 
thoroughly dry mark two straight lines from end 



7b jDe^ec/o-i 




Tuning Coil. 

to end, a quarter of an inch apart. With a sharp 
knife scrape off the insulation so that the wires 
are bare on the outside, but be careful not to dis- 
turb the insulation between the wires. To mount 
the coil, nail at each end a wooden strip three 
inches wide, three and a half high and one inch 
thick. This has also to be nailed to the base, and 
it should be placed so that the coil will clear the 
base by a half inch. The strip of bare wire on 
the coil should be uppermost. Now get a brass 



1 86 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 



rod one quarter of an inch square and thirteen 
inches long; a thin brass strip one quarter inch 
wide and two inches long; another strip one inch 
wide and one and one-quarter inches long; and 
two round headed brass screws. Bend the wider 
brass strip around the brass rod to form a slider. 
Bend the narrow brass strip in the center to form 
a V spring. Solder one end of this to the slider 
so that it is in the position shown in the drawing. 
Slip the slider on the brass rod, place the rod in 
position directly over the pathway of bared wire 
on the coil so that the lower end of the V spring 
will press on this pathway, and fasten the rod se- 
curely with the brass screws to the wooden end 
pieces. 

For the ''aerial" get three or four hundred feet 
of wire — No. i6 galvanized wire will do, though 




Aer^fSt h'/'T-e. 






^J 


\ , 


7b St^^.o^y. 




/ler/a/ tr^r^ 





o /n^u/ak-^or /^>7oi>s. 




Aerial. 



WIRELESS RECEIVING STATION 187 



aluminum or copper wire is better — some insula- 
tor knobs, and two cross spreaders three feet 
long. The parallel wires in the aerial should be 
at least two feet apart, and the aerial should be 
placed as high as possible so that surrounding 
buildings, etc., will not interfere with the wire- 



yrtre'h /Jer/a/. 






hf^rf. 



^ 






Scren!^ ^ 



Ui 



II 



Scret£^ 



ytire 
to 
Qrcu, 



to Cc//, 



7i 



Switch. 



less wave. The bare wires, wherever they are 
fastened to poles or trees must, of course, be 
wound around insulators. For a ground con- 
nection, fasten an ordinary insulated wire to a 
water pipe or to a piece of iron pipe sunk five feet 
in damp ground. A safety switch may be made, 
like the drawing, from a piece of wood six inches 



i88 BOYS' MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS 

square and an inch thick, a piece of stiff brass 
three inches long and a half inch wide, and three 
round-headed brass screws. 

This completes the separate parts of the receiv- 
ing apparatus. To connect it up for use, follow 



//TS^A^/e^ hT/re 




7b Qroun 



hri9t^r /^/?^ 



Diagram of Circuit. 



the circuit diagram. One wire from the aerial 
leads through the safety switch to the tuning coil. 
From the tuning coil carry an insulated wire to 
the detector, and from the detector to the ground. 
The receiver has two wires leading from it — one 
to a point between the detector and the tuning coil, 



WIRELESS RECEIVING STATION 189 

and the other to a similar point between the detec- 
tor and the ground. When not in use the aerial 
should be connected directly with the ground by 
means of the safety switch. Where two wires 
are connected they must of course have the insula- 
tion scraped off so that bare wire rests against 
bare wire. 

When you have learned to translate your mes- 
sages you will be able to do quite a bit of wireless 
eavesdropping, and your receiver will click with 
countless messages. 



THE END 



SEP 23 1912 



